Family, Dattebayo!
by RawrToxi
Summary: Naruto gets adopted! Yay! So does Gaara! And finally, SASUKE! Also, beginning of Kakashi/OC romance! Intended for those of us who hated the abuse against Naruto, Gaara, and Sasuke!  M for violence and swearing
1. Chapter 1

I own NOTHING! Except Sonya, she's allllllll mine.

I'm writing this story because , frankly, the abuse against Naruto pissed me off. (Which led me to also want to kill Gaara's dad and smack most of the Uchiha family) So, In order to resist the urge to kill people while re-watching the anime and seeing the hate, I decided I'd write my own little story that features Naruto getting some family love.

Some characters are going to be OOC I'm sure.

I might get some questions like "Aren't bounty hunters like hunter nin?" Honestly, I'm not really sure, and I don't really care. I wanted to call her a bounty hunter ... SO THERE!

Also, I'm not a die-hard fan of Naruto, so I might not now all the ninjutsu or ginjutsu or I might get some terms wrong or whatever! Please, if I did something wrong, I'm sorry. Send me a review and I'll see if I can correct it! Also, this is my first fanfic, so I'm kinda nervous about sharing it, but I believe this will only help me improve my writing skills!  
So please

ENJOY!

Dattebayo

Chapter 1

… Sigh. Here I am, walking down the street, overwhelmingly bored. Oh, where am I you ask? Oh, no where in particular … -cough-sarcasm-cough-. Nah, I'm actually currently in Konoha, at ahhh, about 6 in the morning? Very few people out at this time of day, at least the civilians anyways, I don't doubt all the ANBU and other ninjas are out about, doing whatever the heck they do. I let out another sigh as I continued on my way down the street, randomly kicking a stone out of my path. My stomach suddenly gave out a loud growl, which caught the attention of several people passing by me, which thus got me some odd glares and a few whispers. I let out a small chuckle and quickly looked to see if there was any place I could grab some food at.

After a particularly good bowl of ramen at a small ramen shop, Ichiraku Ramen Bar I believe, here I am again. Bored. Walking down the same street. If I become any more bored, I'll begin to fear for my own sanity and might have to start hacking at random people and cause a commotion. Killing people is always a way to make the boredom go away … right? I let out a sigh again. Heheh. Yeah, ok, maybe not the best way to entertain myself. Maybe that's why people call me a bit bloodthirsty at times? Ah well, can't help it much. Ah, now, I know what you're thinking. What person is thinking about murdering random people after having ramen for breakfast? Well, that's simply answered really.

My name is Sonya. Yes, plain name. It's also related to Sophia or Sophie, but Sophia always struck me as snobbish and Sophie just seems weak. Blahblahblah, anyways, to put it simply, I am a bounty hunter. Why? Because. That's my job. Or at least, it was. I enjoyed it too. Thrill of the hunt ya know? I generally got contacted by different nations to assassinate lord so and so or the occasional jealous lover. I stopped though; kinda decided it was time for a change of lifestyle. Killing all the time isn't exactly healthy for the soul. Or, well, the things that I used to kill for. I've got sandy gold hair that reaches a bit past my shoulders. It's pretty wavy, and I usually wear by just tying a ribbon or ponytail holder around the very end of it. I've got long side bangs that part to the left side of my face, almost covering up my left eye. I've got an ok face, at least to me. Everyone always tells me I'm extremely pretty, but, honestly, as a bounty hunter, you don't really care how you look. I've got a round face, with high cheekbones and a small round chin. I'm usually always smiling. I've got a natural rosy blush thing going on, and I hate makeup. I've also got two curved dark blue lines coming from under my eyes. It starts right under my eyes, and becoming thinner while going down, softly curves down my cheeks, and ending just below my jaw line in points. Most people say it almost looks like I'm crying. My eyes are a light blue, with a dark grey ring on the outside, and towards the center you'll see a gold band flecked with green around the iris. My nose is kinda roundish too. I s'pose I'm a roundish woman too.

I've also got a giant broadsword called Naomi (named after my mom) strapped to my back. Or was, right now I have it slung over my shoulder, occasionally giving it a flip, just trying to give my hands something to do. It's taller than I am a bit, if you're directly facing me you'll see the hilt stick over my head. The blade itself is almost as wide as my back. I suppose I'm pretty tall for a female. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention I'm female? Well, I am. Anyways, I'm about 5'9 almost 6'0. It's nice to be able to tower over people, makes me seem more intimidating, especially with my huge broadsword.

I'm also well muscled. Comes with years of training I s'pose. And when I say years of training, I mean I've been training since I was 6. And I'm 26 right now. Good gap ta grow some muscles, ja? But I don't have a manly-ish figure, no not at all. Unfortunately for me, I've got a big bust size. Hey, you wouldn't think, but boobs can get in the way of fighting. I generally wrap my torso, even with a bra on. I've got some rather long legs, with strong thighs. You could tell I was an athlete if you looked at me. I've got a tan to my skin. Comes with years in the sun … I'm glad I can tan, I don't like sunburns. They suck … Right now I'm wearing a one-sleeve dark blue silk kimono (Yeah, it IS my favorite color) with a white obi. My left arm is the only one that has a sleeve on it, and it's kinda large and billowy to make sure it doesn't restrict any movement. My right arm is left bare, showing off my dragon tattoo. He's a black dragon with white fur running along his back and down his tail, with what can only be described as a mischievous smile on its face, as if promising that something bad might happen to you. His head starts off on my upper arm, then further down it looks as if his arms and legs are gripping onto me, and then finally his tail wraps along my forearm and ends at my wrist. If you're looking straight at me his head is positioned to look like he's staring straight at you. On the white obi I've got 3 dark blue circles on it, the center one the biggest, and the other two off to either side. There's slits on either side of the kimono that run up about mid-thigh, and you can see a white silk material underneath. And then just some good ol' regular wooden sandals.

And at the moment I'm still walking down this street. Damnit, someone kill me now please, something break this air of boredom! Oh, right, anyways so there ya have it. Ex-Bounty hunter Sonya, at yer service.

Just as I thought it couldn't get any worse, a blur of yellow rushes past me.

'The hell-?'I thought

Then suddenly, there comes an entire mob rushing in front of me.

"Ok. It's not every day you see an angry mob rush past you."

I quickly scan the area in front of the mob, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever it is they're chasing.

That's when I see him. A small runt of a thing, head full of this ungodly yellow hair, running for his life, trying to get away from the angry mob.

"Ok, that ain't right. The hell are they chasing him for?" I wasn't about to wait for an answer.

I quickly jumped into action. I ran forward and lightly jumped onto a roof and began following the poor boy. The mob had him cornered in some alley.

I could hear angry shouts coming from the people. Something about 'kill the demon!' and blahblahblah. They were throwing stones at the kid. THAT ticked me off.

A group of three males stepped in front of the mob, kunais in hand, and the killing intent apparent.

'The hell if I let that happen!' I thought furiously.

I quickly jumped off the roof I had been standing in front of, and landed lightly on my feet in front on the child and the men.

"Yo! Whatcha think ye're doin' to this poor kid!" I shouted

Out of the three men, the center one stepped forward and answered me in a snarl like tone

"We're going to kill him! What does it look like? He deserves to die! He's a demon brat!"

I growled before answering "Yeah? Well guess what. I'm not letting you!."

I lifted Naomi off my shoulder are held it in front of me.

Their expressions were priceless. I bet half of them thought it was just for looks, much less than that I could actually lift the thing, single handed at that.

The men in front of me hesitated. They quickly threw each other a few nervous glances. But the center man that spoke to me earlier growled and then charged at me.

I let him get about halfway to me before I acted. I quickly put Naomi into the ground and then grabbed the man's wrist, and spun so that I was behind him. I jerked his wrist and it gave a sickening 'crunch' clearly a sign that I had broken it. The man dropped the kunai and screamed. Screamed like a girl I might add. I gave a dangerous smirk and effortlessly picked the man up by his arm, and flung him backwards into the crowd. There were screams of terror and protests coming from the angry mob, the fear evident in their eyes. The two men that had accompanied the center guy, quickly gave out a terror filled yelp and quickly fled the scene with the rest of the mob.

"Ugh, what jerks!" I shouted at the now emptying alley

I soon heard a whimper behind me.

'Crap I almost forgot that I had a kid behind me!' I thought

I turned back to see the yellow –haired kid. He was such a mess. There were tears streaming down his face, evidently from fear. He had scrapes and bruises all over him. He had big blue eyes, and the oddest thing I saw from him, were whisker lines on his cheeks? He was dressed in no more than dirty old rags. I heard him whimper again and look up at me, fear still there. I swear, I could feel my heart crack in sorrow at this poor boy. He looked no more than 3, maybe 4.

"Hey, I'm sorry if I scared you earlier. But I had to make the bad men go away. You okay kid?" I asked in a soothing voice.

He still had some fear in his eyes, but he visible calmed down. His tears stopped, and he sniffled a few times before answering.

"My name is Naruto. I'm thwee years old. Thank you for making the big bad men go away. Those people gave me lots of boo-boos."

I gave him a small smile before I continued

"Well, nice to meet you Naruto. My name is Sonya!"

I knelt next to him so that I could get a good look at his scratches. I've always been rather good at medical jutsu. My hands glowed a soft green and I lifted it to his face and began to heal his scrapes, before continuing with the rest of his body.

Satisfied with my work, I gave Naruto a big smile. He gave me a toothy grin back also.

"Well, now that that's over, let's get outa here ok?" I asked and slowly got up, picking Naruto up with my and balancing him on my hip.

He looked a bit shocked at this, but the shock slowly melted away and he gave me a big smile before he wrapped his arms around my neck and hugged me. I was a bit shocked when he did this, but then I smiled warmly and hugged him back. I could feel something tugging at my heartstrings. Closing my eyes and savoring the hug, I thought

'Man, this kid really gets to me. He's just so cute. And in an awful situation. No one deserves what this kid has gone through.'

Right after this though, I heard soft thuds around me. I quickly opened up my eyes, to see several ANBU members standing around me, with their freakish masks on.

'Ugh, I never did like those masks. They either make me giggle, or they just outright creep me.'

One man stood out though. He had dropped right in front of me. He didn't have the usual ANBU masks on, but he did have a mask one, but it only went up to cover his nose and seemed to slope up to cover one of his eyes, where I also noticed he had his village headband slung down so that it covered up that eye entirely, leaving only one eye exposed. Despite the mask, he is rather cute. And dear God, he had some gravity defying spiky white hair. And for some reason, his hair just made me burst out into giggles.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Kakashi's PoV

My day had been going fairly well, considering all I was doing was lounging around and reading my _Icha Icha Paradise _book. Then, all of a sudden, at around 7:30 in the morning, I get an emergency call from the Hokage saying that we need to check up on Naruto due to the reports of a mob chasing after him and a young woman with a large broadsword protecting him. Immediately I and several other ANBU set off to find Naruto.

When we get there, I can say we were all surprised. A young woman, probably no more than mid twenties is currently kneeling before Naruto and healing him.

'Who is she? I've never seen her before. Damn, that's one huge blade, how can she possibly be able to lift that? Well, it looks like she's healed Naruto. I definitely have not seen her before. She's wearing a loose fitting one-sleeved dark blue kimono, with a white obi around her waist, tied into a bow on her back. Though the kimono fits nicely around her chest and hips and- Argh! What am I thinking? Stick to the mission!'

I mentally shook myself from my thoughts. There was no point on focusing on her body at the moment, especially since she was with Naruto. I saw her rise and pick up Naruto with her. Naruto looked surprised at this, but as quickly as it came, it went just as fast. He gave her a big smile and swung his arms around her neck. She seemed a bit shocked at this, but then she simply gave a heart-warming smile and hugged him back, a look of absolute calm and bliss on both of their faces. One of the ANBU looked at me. It was a silent question on whether we should make ourselves known. I gave a small nod and we all jumped down.

The woman quickly opened her eyes when she heard our soft thumps. She narrowed her eyes taking us in, clearly sizing us up to see if we were a threat. Then her gaze stopped on me. I could see a small question behind her eyes about my mask. While she was silently taking me in, I was looking at her also. I kept my usual bored expression on my face, but, wow, this woman was stunning. Those eyes looked like they could see right through me. Her dark blue kimono complimented her eyes and the curved lines under her eyes nicely. Her white obi had 3 dark blue circles on it, the largest in the middle, two smaller ones off to the side. And then, I could see her eyes move to my hair and then …

She bursts into giggles …

I raise an eyebrow thinking 'What's so funny?'

The other ANBU members automatically tense up, thinking she might be playing a trick on us. And then she addressed us

"Well well well. What have we here? Come to see little ol' me, eh? Well, you seem to have gotten the message a bit slow if you were trying to protect Naruto here. And if you're here to reprimand me about running off your mob, then I could honestly care less. They deserved. Treating an innocent child like trash like that. You're lucky I held my temper in check. I had half a mind to cut them all down with Naomi."

"Who is Naomi?" I asked, still having my eyebrow raised.

She smirked at me for asking, a dangerous glint in her eyes. She gestured behind her to the giant broadsword.

"Well, Naomi here is my companion, my sword."

I heard an ANBU member scoff somewhere to the right of me and in a haughty tone say

"Little lady, I don't think you could make that sword budge an inch."

The woman quickly looked to the ANBU who spoke and faster than I could say 'Hokage' there was a blur, and she had Naomi in her hand that wasn't holding Naruto, and had it pressed against his neck.

The rest of the ANBU members tensed and quickly drew out their own weapons. The woman narrowed her eyes, and I could see the wheels turning in her head the best way to pick us off. I waved a hand dismissively, telling them to back down. Still tense, they slowly put their weapons away. The still nameless lady, saw this and lowered her own sword also, but still had a grim expression on her face. Naruto looked a bit scared at the situation. I needed to defuse the situation, and quickly.

"I'm sorry for my companion here. He meant nothing by it. And we are grateful that you saved Naruto. What you did was the right thing."

The grim expression on her face was replaced with a more relaxed one, though still a bit tense.

"Yeah well, I wasn't about to let them harm this kid more than they already had. He doesn't deserve this."

She looked back at Naruto, who looked extremely sleepy at the moment, given his half drooping eyes and the fact that he had his head lying on her shoulder. She shifted him a bit, so that he could snuggle closer as he fell asleep. She looked back at me, and I saw a tired and worried expression of her own.

"Well, I know that ANBU don't just randomly show up, and then randomly leave. So, whatcha need me for?" She asked

"We simply needed to make that whoever saved Naruto was a friend, rather than a foe. And we've also been ordered to escort you back to the Hokage."

She processed this information for a second, and then gave a curt nod and said

"I'll follow you, but first, I'd like a name?" She said with a smile

"Hatake, Kakashi. Yours?" I said with a grin

"Mikozumi, Sonya." She said, with a grin of her own


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sonya's PoV

I followed Kakashi and the other ANBU back to where the Hokage worked. As we entered his office, I saw Kakashi talking to who seemed to be a secretary, requesting that we could speak to the Hokage. The secretary quickly looked at a logbook, and then have us a nod as a 'go ahead.'

Naruto had fallen asleep on the way here. I shifted him a bit on my hip, and he gave a soft snort and buried his face in my neck. I smiled and held him with both my arms, rubbing small circles on his back. I had previously sheathed Naomi back onto my back. Kakashi turned back to me to gesture me to him. I walked up to him silently. He was about as tall as me I noticed. Then he spoke

"You are currently a guest here, and as such I'll need to remove you of your weapons. If I may?" He asked

"Yeah, sure, go ahead. I've only got a kunai pouch on my left leg, and Naomi." I replied

I effortlessly lifted Naomi off my back, and an ANBU beside me took it. As I handed it to him, I noticed him quickly drop it a few inches in the air, obviously taken back by the weight. I could even see Kakashi give it an incredulous look. He then proceeded to unstrap my kunai pouch off my leg. He handed it off to another ANBU member, and then he turned back to me, looking questioningly at my other pouch on my right arm. I gave him another smirk

"That pouch doesn't have any weapons. All it really has is some money, playing cards, lock picks, some coffee and tea pouches-"

"Wait, why are you carrying tea and coffee with you?" Kakashi asked

"Hey, the life of a bounty hunter is always changing. One day you might have an apartment near your target, and the next you might need to take shelter in the woods. Plus, I need my coffee in the morning, and I'm a tea addict." I answered truthfully

Of course, the second the word 'bounty hunter' came out of my mouth, I think every single ANBU member had their weapons out and were getting ready to kill me on the spot. Kakashi just raised an eyebrow at me, with a bored expression on his face …

"A bounty hunter, eh? And what exactly is you business here?" Kakashi asked with narrowed eyes

'Oh crap, these people are about 2 seconds away from killing me.' I thought

"Eh, nothin' really. I'm an EX-Bounty hunter if you need to know. Decided killing for money or whatever goodies I got wasn't the healthiest thing for the soul, ja?" I said with a sheepish grin

Kakashi just looked at me, as if trying to see if I'm lying. The ANBU guys around me were still tensed, waiting for the order to put a kunai in my back. Just when I thought the atmosphere couldn't get any more tense, Naruto lets out a weak meep, a troubled expression on his face. His arms and legs kept twitching. It looked like he was having a nightmare. I shifted him in my arms a bit, and stroked his hair and back to try and calm him down, while I hummed a soft lullaby in his ear. He quickly calmed down, and went back to nuzzling my neck and snoring softly. I smiled at the tike, happy he was safe at the moment. I looked up to see Kakashi watching me, a small grin I could see was tugging at his lips under the mask.

"Well, it doesn't look like you've got any murderous intentions. I think it's safe for you to meet the Hokage." Kakashi waved his hand dismissively, signaling yet again for the ANBU to lower their weapons. I think the bounty hunter part spooked them though, because I swear I could feel the glares on the back of my head.

We silently walked into the Hokage's office. I took in my surroundings a bit.

'Meh, pretty plain, wouldn't've guessed that this was the Hokage's office. Well, except the tower of papers on his desk.'

That tower of papers was enough to send me running for the hills. I eyed them with disdain while thinking

'I will never get a desk job … NEVER!'

I heard a soft chuckle come from behind the desk. I clearly had missed the Hokage himself. He was an elderly man, but with a kind weathered face. He seemed like an old grandpa, though he emits an incredibly powerful aura. I like him already.

"I see you've noticed my papers. Believe when I say, they are as intimidating as they look." He said with a small smile

"I believe it. I'll take being anything else over a desk job anytime." I said with grin

He chuckled at this. Then his eyes drifted to the still sleeping Naruto in my hands. I was still stroking his back, just in case he went back into a nightmare. He still had his face buried in my neck, his small arms encircling my neck, and was softly snoring. The Hokage smiled at us, clearly relieved that Naruto was safe at the moment.

"I thank you for saving Naruto. Who knows what those men would have done with him. Unfortunately the villagers have a hard time seeing who is the prisoner, and who is the prison." He said with a grim face

I raised my eyebrow at this.

"Prisoner? Prison? Do tell, because I've no idea what you're talking about gramps."

Other than laughing at my new nickname for him (while all the ANBU seemed shocked at my blatant 'disrespect'.) The Hokage (whom I now know as Sarutobi, Hiruzen) explained to me all about how Minato, the fourth Hokage, had been forced to seal Kyuubi, the nine tailed kitsune demon, into Naruto. Hiruzen had forbid anyone from telling the younger generation about who Naruto really was, and what he had sealed in him. For Naruto's own protection, Naruto was forced to take his mother's last name.

I had managed to find a chair and was currently sitting down, listening to Naruto's horrible life. I felt myself grow angry at all those who saw him as a demon, rather than a poor boy who needed a family.

After the Hokage stopped with his tale, he looked back to me, a pained expression on his face. I gazed back, with determination set in my mind

"Gramps, I want to adopt Naruto as my own." I said in a strong and determined voice

He looked surprised at this, even Kakashi was. Hiruzen looked me over before answering.

"You? You are new to this city, and before now, knew nothing of Naruto's predicament. Why would you want to adopt him as your own?"

My gaze drifted down to Naruto, nestled in my lap. My heart seemed to cry out at his abuse. I knew what it was like to have little to no friends, and a father who wanted nothing to do with me.

"Because. He did nothing to deserve his fate. I do not see a demon when I look at him. I see a poor boy that needs someone to love him in life. I know what's it's like to be alone, to feel like no one is there for you, to have no one to cry on, no one to ask help for. It's bitter, and can destroy a person not strong enough to handle it. He doesn't deserve this. I want to help him. I want to be there for him when he needs me. I want to be able to look at him and say 'I love you. You're my son, and I will always love you.' It's not fair, and I want to make it fair, or at least make it better. He may always have scars from his past, but I want to be here for him, to help him through it."

I still had my eyes locked on Naruto. He looked so peaceful in sleep, nothing like the boy I had encountered, scared to death in an alley. I saw something wet plop on his spiky yellow hair, and I realized I had hot tears dripping down my face. I quickly wiped them away with the back of my hand, feeling a bit foolish to cry in front of everyone. I looked up to see Hiruzen looking at me, a calm and loving expression on his face. He had a small smile, and seemed content at the answer I had given him. I gave him a small sheepish smile of my own.

"Well, other than knowing next to none about you, I'd still say you were the perfect person for Naruto. I have no problems about you adopting Naruto. But we will need to apply for citizenship for you, and have the adoption forums for Naruto."

I let out a small groan at the thought of paperwork.

'Damn you paperwork! You seem to follow me wherever I go!' I thought to myself

Hiruzen, quickly picking up on my disinterest for paperwork, let out a small chuckle.

"Of course though, we will need to wait for Naruto to wake up to decide if he wants to be adopted by you, though I honestly doubt he would refuse such a kind lady. In the meantime, let's get you some place to stay."

I smiled at Hiruzen, thankful for his assistance.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Kakashi's PoV

I was ordered to lead Sonya and Naruto back to their small house where they would be living for the time being. On the way back though, Sonya insisted on going back to Ichiraku to get some ramen takeout claiming 'Naruto is going to be hungry as a horse when he wakes up, and ramen is just the thing!' She bought about ten bowls of ramen to take home. When I questioned her about the large amount she merely shrugged and said 'Well, one is for you, and I have no idea how much this runt is going to eat, plus, I'm starving!' After the ramen bar though, we made a quick stop at a store. She bought fresh bed sheets, some bathroom products, some 'feminine' necessities, (which she had ordered that I not follow her into that aisle, and told me to go stand out in the middle on the main aisle) some clothes and pajamas for Naruto, a few kitchen utensils, some crayons and a coloring book, and finally a few fluffy pillows. After purchasing all this, we also had to make a quick stop at the apartment that she had been staying to get the rest of her stuff. Luckily, it looked like she had barely touched the apartment, and all of her belongings were still packed away in a single large bag.

We quickly made our way to the house. It was small, but it had about three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a large kitchen, and a decent sized living room. She smiled brightly when we entered.

"It's perfect for a small family. Oh, it's been so long since I've lived in an actual house. This is going to be a nice change." She said, still smiling

"It's sparsely furnished, but it should be enough for a few days, before we can get you situated enough and go out to buy whatever you need."

But her comment on not living in a house for a long time confused me.

"Why haven't you been living in house? Where else have you been?" I questioned

She gave a small shrug. She went and laid Naruto down on the couch before answering.

"I think I left my family's house when I was, oh, thirteen?" she said in a nonchalant tone

I was shocked. She left home that early?

"Why did you leave so early if you had a family?" I asked concerned

She paused for a moment, a glaze coming over her eyes, as if she were replaying a scene in her head. She quickly shook her head, seeming to shake away whatever memory she had encountered.

"My mother died at around that time. My mom was a bounty hunter too. My dad never loved me, seeing as I wasn't his own blood. You see, my mom fell in love with a target, or so she told me. She said she had no regrets about that love, but she was still forced to kill him in the end. A few months later after that contract, she learned she was pregnant with me. She had told my father that the only way to get close to my real dad was to seduce him. He believed her, but he still didn't like it. I was always mom's favorite. She loved me till the day she died. But, my father often abused me whenever she went out on a mission, claiming that if she hadn't bore me, I wouldn't be in the way of their relationship. My mom gave birth to my sister a few years before she died. She was about 3 at the time I ran away. Seeing as my mom was no longer around, and my dad having his own child to worry about, my dad had no reason to keep me. Before he could make his own move to disown me though, I packed the night I heard of my mother's death, and ran away, living as a bounty hunter ever since. I quit about three years ago though, claiming that due to an injury I had received on a mission, I was clearly past my prime, and wasn't able to work." She snorted softly after saying that.

"Yeah right. NOT be able to kill people. I think that will always be my job, no matter where I am. It's what I've lived for, it's in my blood. But, now I want to only be able to protect my friends and family with it, especially now that I have a son." She smiled softly after she said 'son'.

I pondered over her story. I had lost my father at a young age. But I still got to know and love him. Everyone deserves a family, and it's unfortunate that not everyone gets that.

Soon my thoughts were disrupted by Naruto. He let out a yawn and carefully sat up on the couch, slowly rubbing the sleep away from his eyes with his tiny fists. Sonya, who had been sitting down by Naruto's head on the couch looked down and smiled. Naruto seemed confused to where he was, until he noticed Sonya by him. When he realized who she was, he gave a toothy grin and jumped into her lap, squeezing his arms around her waist. She let out a small chuckle and hugged him back.

"Well, good evening sleepy-head, have a nice nap?" She said warmly

Naruto looked up at her, still grinning.

"Yes, thank you nice wady!" He exclaimed

"Well that's good. Would you like some ramen to eat?" She asked

Naruto had a look of confusion on his face, before asking

"What's wamen?"

Sonya looked completely dumbfounded, her expression a 'Wtf, who doesn't know what ramen is?'

And then, she laughed. A full-belly merry laugh, echoing throughout the small house.

She picked Naruto up and set him on her shoulders while walking into the kitchen to get the ramen, explaining all the way.

Sonya's PoV 

After having dinner with Naruto (who had eaten 5 bowls, much to the amazement of Kakashi and I) and Kakashi, it was around 8 in the evening. Naruto was beginning to look a little sleepy, and Kakashi was sitting on the couch reading his perv _Icha Icha _book, and lazily looking up to check up on us. We were in front of the couch, drawing silly pictures. I narrowed my eyes at his book thinking back on our conversation

_I'm putting the dishes away, chatting with Naruto about little things, like our favorite colors and favorite animals. I look behind me to see what Kakashi is up to. Earlier when I had handed him the ramen he told me that there was a bug flying behind, and when I looked around, there wasn't anything there._

"_Kakashi, are you sure you saw a bug? I can't find it any- HOLY CRAP!" When I had turned back to question him, I saw that all of his ramen was gone.I had turned away for only a few seconds. I looked back up, and saw he had a smug grin behind his mask. I sweat-dropped. _

"_You- But I- Bug- …. You tricked me!" I cried out_

_Kakashi just smirked at me, and went back to reading his book. I just growled softly in annoyance. Then I realized 'Wait, he's been reading that thing the entire time.'_

"_Kakashi, what's that book?" I asked_

_He gave me a 'Wtf, who doesn't know the __Icha__Icha__ novels?' look. Then, he looked a bit embarrassed, as he proceeded to explain it to me._

"_It's uhm-" He began_

_That was before I shot forward, quick as lighting to grab the book from him. He looked surprised, his hand still in front of him as if he was still holding the book. He began to protest, but then I began to read out loud._

"_Oh, Miza! Come my love, we have just ran away, since our love was forbidden in our kingdoms. Let's venture forth in the world and meet new people, new lands! Come my sweet-" And then I sweat-dropped._

"_Blahblahblah, I love you lots, blahblahblah … … blah, blah ..? Oh … Oh my …"_

_I blushed crimson at what I saw on the next few pages, and silently gave it back to Kakashi. My blush coming somewhat under control, I turned back to Kakashi with narrowed eyes._

"_If Naruto ever gets a hold of those books, in any way shape or form, I will personally see to it that I castrate you, and then kill you. Slowly. Painfully." I answered in a tone dripping with malice_

_He seemed to sense I wasn't kidding. He gave a curt nod, and proceeded to scoot a few feet away from me. I glared at him one last time, before I turned back to Naruto to go gather some colors and papers for us to entertain ourselves with._

After reliving the conversation and giving one last glare at the book, I turned my attention back to Naruto. I was rather nervous to ask if he wanted to be adopted. I wasn't sure if he trusted me yet. Sure, he was only 3, but he was a 3 year old who had already witnessed the hate of people.

"Naruto, may I ask you a question?" I asked hesitantly

Naruto looked up at me and smiled before replying

"Sure!"

I smiled at him before I picked him up and put him in my lap, wrapping my arms around him and resting my chin on his head. He gratefully sunk into my embrace and hugged my arms closer to him.

"I- … I wanted to know if I could adopt you. I want to know if I can be your mommy, so that me and you can live together." I closed my eyes, waiting for his response.

His small body tensed a bit, then quickly relaxed, followed by him jumping up and exclaiming

"YES! I want you to be my mommy! You're a nice wady!"

He turned around to throw his small arms around my neck, and nuzzled his head into my neck. I was so surprised at how joyful he acted. I quickly shot up with him and squealed while spinning him around with me. He giggled at me, which turned into full blown laughs as I lowered him to the ground and began tickling his small tummy. After a few seconds I stopped tickling him, and he gratefully gasped in huge amounts of air, trying to make up for how much he had laughed. He smiled up at me, and then yawned, and started to rub his eyes. I grinned, and picked him up, resting his head against my shoulder.

"Well mister, that was a big yawn! I think it's time we went to bed, ja?"

He nodded sleepy. I turned back to Kakashi, who had been silently watching us, a small smile on his face. I grinned back at him.

"Thank you for your help today Kakashi. It was much appreciated."

"It was my pleasure. I will inform the Hokage of Naruto's descision. Stop by his office at around 8." He said with a nod

I nodded my head to him, and gave him my thanks and a 'goodnight' before I carried Naruto up to the master bedroom. In the middle was a king sized bed, with fresh sheets that we had gotten from the store. I stripped Naruto down and put him in his PJs. After I was done with him, I got myself ready, and then I climbed into bed with him. He was half asleep by this point, but he still managed to turn around, and snuggle into my side and whisper a soft 'Goodnight mommy'. I could've cried tears of joy, but I settled on turning onto my side and putting my arms around him and whispering a soft 'Goodnight my baby boy'.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Kakashi's PoV

I stayed hidden in a tree overlooking a window into the bedroom. I saw Sonya finally emerge into the room with Naruto in her arms. She gently sat him on the bed, and changed him into his PJs. Then she quickly changed into her own PJs (which, by the way, I DIDN'T watch …) She crawled into the bed with Naruto, and I saw Naruto snuggle closer to her. I couldn't hear what he said, but I could read his lips, and saw that he had said 'goodnight mommy'. Sonya looked peaceful and happy, before she turned and wrapped him into her arms, replying back 'goodnight my baby boy'.

After making sure the perimeter was secure, and nothing was suspicious, I quickly made my way back to the Hokage's office. When I arrived, I proceeded to give him my report. At the end I concluded

"She seems content and happy, and so does Naruto at that. They both seem to be made for each." I paused a moment before continuing.

"I think Naruto has finally found himself the perfect mom. A woman who loves him, no matter what he has inside him. She doesn't care at all, and she seems to be willing to argue with anyone at that point." I sweat-dropped at this point before continuing.

"She also told me that if she ever caught Naruto reading any _Icha Icha_ books, she would personally castrate me, and then kill me. Slowly … Painfully …" I shuddered, dreading the thought

The Hokage sensed my sincerity of my report, and my discomfort at her threat. He barked a laugh when he heard the last part.

"I agree with you Kakashi. I think Naruto is in safe hands. Tomorrow we'll discuss her citizenship. We'll also need to check her training. I would suggest getting a good night's sleep Kakashi, if we want to rate her fighting, we'll need to put her through some fighting. I'm figuring you or Gai would be good candidates."

I shuddered at the thought of encountering Gai tomorrow.

'He'll probably challenge me to something stupid. Like rock paper scissors again …'

But I would be looking forward to test out Sonya's skill. Any woman who can pick up Naomi single handed has to be extremely powerful. And extremely dangerous. I mentally shook myself of my thoughts before responding.

"Hai Hokage." I said with a small nod before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

I arrived at my own apartment and proceeded to get ready for bed. My last thoughts lingering on what a nice lady Sonya was …

Sonya's PoV 

I slowly began to wake up to someone poking my face. Whoever they were, they were poking my face everywhere, particularly my face markings, my nose, and my forehead. I let out a small frustrated groan, and the poking abruptly stopped. I slowly let my eyes open, only to see a blur of yellow and blue hovering over me.

"Gahhh!" I gasped and shot my head up, which painfully collided with someone else. I heard a small squeak come from the yellow blur.

I grasped my wounded forehead before checking to see who I had hit. I gasped again when I saw Naruto grasping his own forehead, with an annoyed look on his face.

"Gah! Naruto sweety, I'm so sorry! Mommy didn't see you!" I exclaimed

I quickly looked him over to make sure I hadn't broken anything. He seemed fine from apart from a large red mark on his forehead where I had hit him. He just gave me a toothy grin.

"That's ok mommy!" He assured me

I felt like a bit of a retard, forgetting that I had forgotten that Naruto was sleeping in the same bed as me. Before I could continue with my thoughts Naruto broke them for me

"Mommy, why do you wook wike you're crying?" He asked, eyes wide with curiosity

I giggled at the way he replaced his 'l' with a 'w'. He did the same thing with 'r'.

"I'm not crying Naruto, those are just facial markings. I was born with them."

His eyebrows knitted together with confusion. Then his eyes got really big and his mouth formed a little 'o'.

"Do I have any!" He asked excitedly

It was my turn to scratch my head.

"Errr, you kind of do, but yours aren't colored like mine. Here, c'mon I'll show you."

I picked Naruto up with me, and carried him into the bathroom. I sat him down on the bathroom counter, in front of the mirror.

"See? You've got little lines on your face. They kinda remind me of whiskers."

Naruto studied himself a bit longer, his fingers brushing across his whisker marks. Then he frowned and looked up at me.

"But I want marks like yours!" He pouted

I chuckled at him, and ruffled his hair.

"Yeah, well, maybe when you're older you can get some tattoos. But I like your marks Naruto. They're cute, and they're unique. They're something that no one else has, and it makes them super special."

Naruto pondered this for a bit. He looked a bit relieved that I told him he was unique. But then I could see the fire of determination behind his eyes, and he looked me straight in the face.

"Pwinky Pwomise!" He yelled, while holding out his pinky finger.

I looked surprised at his outburst. Then I laughed, and I wrapped my own pinky around his.

"Pinky Promise." I swore


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

We had our left-over ramen for breakfast (much to the delight of Naruto), and got ready to go see the Hokage. We went back into the bathroom and I gave Naruto a much needed bath (much to his dismay). After I changed him into some fresh clothes, I went and put on some training gear. I knew they wanted to test me out for citizenship, and I was pretty sure they wanted to discuss my fighting. I put on a mesh sleeveless mesh shirt. Over it I put on a sleeveless black shirt that only went to my navel. I had my sword harnester too. It was a simply dark blue belt that circled around my chest and back, having a sheath on the back part. I had on some forest green cargo pants, with my kunai pouch on my left leg. I buckled on my belt that had a medical pouch secured to it, and a smaller survivability pouch (the pouch that held my coffee and tea!). Finally, I put on a fingerless glove on my right hand (my sword hand) and toeless black shinobi sandals. I tied my hair up into a short ponytail, and then I went and strapped on Naomi.

I picked up Naruto and ran across the tops of houses. When we got to the Hokage's office, his secretary just waved us through. Naruto quickly leapt down from me and ran up to Hiruzen, playfully jumping into his I got in, I found Gramps laughing with Naruto and Kakashi already waiting for me, along with another guy that had a shiny bowl haircut, HUGE bushy eyebrows, and wore green spandex. He quickly turned to me, and gave me a blinding smile and his teeth sparkled and gave a soft 'ping!' (no literally, I think his teeth were shiny enough to blind someone).

"AH! SO THIS IS THE YOUTHFUL SONYA THAT WE HAVE HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT! I AM GAI, KONOHA'S SUBLIME GREEN BEAST OF PREY!" He said in a loud voice. Gramps gave a small chuckle, and Kakashi just rubbed his temples. Gai was quickly looking me over, and I saw his eyes rest on Naomi.

"AH, YOU MUST INDEED BE VERY YOUTHFUL TO BE ABLE TO CARRY SUCH A HEAVY AND DANGEROUS WEAPON! YOU MUST ALSO BE TRAINED IN TAIJUTSU, THE VERY THING I HAVE MASTERED! COME MY NEW BEATIFUL AND YOUTHFUL FRIEND, WE SHALL HAVE TO SPAR AFTER THIS MEETING!" He gave me another dazzling smile.

I sat there gaping like a fish at this man's enthusiasm. Even Naruto seemed a bit scared at this man .I think Kakashi sensed my shock and quickly came to my defense.

"Gai, she's only been here for a day, don't scare her so bad. She's not yet used to your enthusiasm." Kakashi said in a bored tone.

I let out a small sigh "Ah, thanks Kakashi. It's uhm, no trouble really." I scratched the back of my head and gave a sheepish smile to Gai.

Gai quickly looked back and forth between me and Kakashi, before he exclaimed in a dramatic voice.

"Gah! Kakashi! My eternal rival! You make me so mad! You have already met this wonderful and youthful woman! Why must you act so cool?" He quickly turned back to me. He took my hand and knelt down, two streams of tears coming from his eyes.

"Do not worry Sonya! I shall one day beat Kakashi at his coolness! Until then, please look deep into my eyes and accept my sincere apology! Also notice my handsome many features."

'Oh my god, is this guy for real?' I thought, completely confused. I cleared my throat awkwardly before replying.

"Uhm, yeah, don't worry about it Gai, no harm done …"

Gai quickly jumped up and pointed a finger at Kakashi.

"You see Kakashi! She is not swayed by your charms! She shall remain youthful and beautiful forever!" He shouted.

I sweat-dropped … Hiruzen cleared his throat before getting on with the meeting.

"I have your adoption papers and citizenship papers here Sonya. It shouldn't take too long to fill these out. I will forever be in your debt for looking after Naruto for me. He is like a grandson to me."

"Don't worry Gramps. He's safe with me. I should be the one thanking you for allowing me to adopt him. He's already my baby boy to me." I said with a smile

Hiruzen nodded at this. Then he got a few papers and a pen, and began to question me on my origins.

"Who is your mother?"

"Mikosumi, Naomi."

"Father?"

"Adopted father, Howel, Icharou."

"Age?"

"26"

It went on with simple questions like this, until we got to where I was born.

"Iwagakure"

It seemed everyone in the room tensed when I said this. I knew of the bitter history between Konoha and Iwa.

"I was born there, yes. But I hold no allegiance to that pitiful village. It was my father's village, not my mothers, and my dad made sure the place was no home to me. I did not attend the ninja academy there, my mother trained me and over the years I've picked up things." I answered, my tone dangerous.

The Hokage simply nodded at this, seeming content with my answer.

"Did you ever return there over the years after you left?"

I searched my brain for an answer. It had been a long time since I went back.

"I think I snuck back in when I was 17 or so, simply to check up on my little sister. I was unable to find my father or my sister. It seems my dad went over his head in something, and was a wanted man. I'm not sure if he's dead myself, believe I checked with people to see if I couldn't get the contract for him. My sister was in the orphanage there. I stayed for a few days, just to make sure she was alright. She seemed happy actually, it seemed she had made friends within the orphanage, especially a smaller blonde boy, though I could've sworn he was a female when I first saw him …" I didn't mention how my sister had called the boy 'brother' since it didn't seem like an important fact. My sister looked a lot like me, sandy blonde hair, the same light blue eyes, and roundish features. She was a bit paler than me, but my tan had come from years in the sun. The Hokage's question interrupted my thoughts.

"Why didn't you adopt your sister?"

I was shocked that he had asked me that. I thought back on it before I answered.

"I was only 17 at the time, and in no condition to raise a child. I was still hunting people down, and I didn't have a stable home. I could be gone months at a time before I came back after a contract." I hesitated before continuing.

"She was also … happy. She may have been in an orphanage, but she was happy. She was having so much fun. Anaia was a spirited girl, I could tell from the way she argued back at someone from when she was only 3. But when I still lived with her, she wasn't happy all the time. She was merely content. My dad never abused her like he did me, but she still didn't get the love she deserved from him either, even if she was his favorite. She would always come crying to me after I had gotten beat. I always locked her in our room when mom went away, knowing that dad would come after me. But I never cried in front of her, I wanted her to be strong, even though she couldn't help… She finally got the love she deserved in the friends around her at the orphanage."

I looked up to see the Hokage to see him put the final stamp on my citizenship records. He just smiled up at me. Of course, after my tale, Gai burst into tears.

"You are such a strong person Sonya! The flames of youth are evident in you! Do not fear, for Konoha shall be the village you never had, and we will be the family you never had!" He shouted, two streams of tears coming out of his eyes again.

I sweat-dropped at his antics.

"Uhm, yeah, thanks Gai …" I answered hesitantly.

"There is one last thing we need to discuss before we continue on. We need to observe how you fight."

I smirked at this, completely ready for a challenge.

"Hai Hokage, I'm looking forward to it."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I was lead to some of the training grounds near the academy. I would go up against Gai, then Kakashi, testing out my taijutsu skills against guy, and my ninjutsu and genjutsu against Kakashi.

I was itching for a fight. I hadn't been in a good one for a few months (the last was a tavern brawl, barely counts!). I did a few stretching exercises and gave Naomi a few practice swings while Gai was running laps around the field. I started doing pushups while doing a one-handed handstand, and then going to only balancing on two fingers. It felt nice to stretch everything out. Ninjas should be constantly stretching or making an exercise out of everyday things because you never know when you're going to walk into your next fight. Gai signaled he was ready, and I gave him a thumb up saying that I was ready too. The Hokage was going to be the referee of the fight.

Kakashi's PoV

Gai and Sonya did a few warming up exercises. Gai was of course doing laps around the field (I swear all the man does is run) and Sonya was doing various stretching exercises, settling on doing one-hand handstand and doing pushups like that. Gai signaled he was ready by doing his 'nice guy' pose, and Sonya gave him a thumb up and a smirk. I admit I'm pretty curious to see how she does. When the Hokage gave the signal to start, Gai and Sonya instantly sprang into action. All I could see was two blurs come at each other before I saw Gai crossing his forearms protecting himself from a over the head strike from Naomi. They quickly broke apart and stood a few feet from each other, slowly circling each other. Sonya seemed to be having fun, and Gai seemed shocked at her speed. Again, all I could see was blurs. I activated my sharingan to keep up with the fight. Sonya was giving as many hits as she was receiving from Gai, and that's pretty fast considering she's wielding a two handed sword. Unfortunately though, Sonya was only a tad bit slower than Gai, but it was enough for him to be able to exploit. On an over head chop, Gai managed to get his hands on either side of the blade on the flat side, and promptly sent it spinning away, where it was embedded deep in the soil, effectively disarming Sonya. However, it seemed she was prepared and already had three kunai aimed towards Gai. He managed to dodge them, but on the last one he got a shallow cut on the cheek. Sonya quickly went on the offensive seeing Gai's surprise at getting cut. No longer having a two sword to wield, Sonya's hand-to-hand attacks easily kept up with Gai's. Sonya's fighting movement was very close somewhat similar to The Gentle Fist style, simply because she was aiming for disabling hits, rather than going for a kill. Though hers was a bit altered, she preferred to block attacks rather than dodge, even if she was doing a good job at both. Gai apparently sensing he was at a disadvantage needed a way out and fast.

So of course he activates the first of the eight chakra gates. I saw Sonya's eyes go wide, her expression 'oh shit'. Right before Guy did the Front Lotus move and rammed Sonya into the ground. I can tell Sonya didn't think Guy would be so quick to use that move, because she did nothing to prepare herself. When the dust settled, I saw Sonya laying limply on the ground, Guy hovering over her and shaking her shoulders rapidly, making her look like a bobble head. I quickly ran over to them to inspect the damage, but when I got there it turns out she wasn't as injured as I thought her to be. Guy had stopped shaking her, but he still had his hands on her shoulders. She had a bit of a dazed look on her face, and most of her hair and fallen out of her ponytail. She blinked repeatedly, as if trying to figure out what happened. Then she looked up at Guy.

And then she started laughing.

I was completely shocked, as was Gai. Then Gai started to wail.

"Noo! I have broken the youthful Sonya! I did not think my Front Lotus would do so much damage! I will never forgive myself! NEVER!" Two streams of tears were coming out of Guys eyes, and the air around us started to sparkle, while a sunset slowly rose in the sky. I sweat-dropped.

"Ahaha hahahah, nah nah, it's all good Guy! I was just surprised you used that move on me! I haven't had that great of a fight in forever, and it's been YEARS since someone had the guts to use that on me!" Sonya exclaimed. She had scrapes and bruises all over, but she was currently holding her stomach laughing. Everyone else sweat-dropped at her.

Naruto had promptly jumped out of the Hokage's grasp and ran towards Sonya.

"Mommy mommy! I was so scawed you were dead when Gai said you bwoke you!" Naruto cried out

Sonya smiled and wrapped her arms around Naruto, hugging him assuredly.

"Nah, it's alright baby. It takes a LOT more than that to break mommy."

The Hokage cleared his throat before commenting.

"Well, despite from Guy opening up the first chakra gate, you did a splendid job in that fight. Your taijutsu is in excellent condition." Hiruzen said while smiling.

Sonya smiled back.

"Eh, thanks Gramps! I haven't had a good hand-to-hand fight in awhile, was nice to stretch my muscles." She said giving a large grin to the Hokage.

I still couldn't get over how she could get away with calling him Gramps …


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Sonya's PoV

After having a fun fight with Gai, who yet again commented on my 'youthfulness' after the fight, we had a lunch break. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to eat but Naruto promptly called out 'WAMEN!' at the mention of food.

I let Kakashi lead us to our favorite ramen stand. A lot of people were giving me dirty looks while we walked down the road, my shinobi hearing picking up 'demon brat' and 'murderer' a lot. I wanted to to turn around and throw a kunai past their head, but something tells me Kakashi might not appreciate me causing trouble on only second day here. We went into the ramen stand and I heard a lot more mutterings around me. Then I heard something along the lines of Kakshi's whore taking care of the demon brat'. Something snapped inside. I turned to Kakashi and put on a pleasant smile.

"Hold Naruto for me please Kakashi." He looked like he wanted to question me, but he silently took Naruto from my grasp.

I turned around and stomped to the person I heard talk about me. The people looked up at me and sneered, but I quickly wiped those smirks off their faces. I took out Naomi and loudly put the flat of the blade down on the table, successfully rattling their bowls and cups. They looked like they might wet themselves any moment now. I glared at the man that had talked about us. I put on an evil smirk before I said anything.

"So, I'm a whore am I?" I said in a low tone.

The man sat there with his mouth gaping wide open, as if he had trouble breathing. I nudged Naomi closer to him, making it rise a few inches in the air to come dangerously close to his neck. He looked like he was about to start crying, his legs were shaking. I gave him my scariest glare.

"Boo."

The man jumped up and sprinted like the devil himself was after him. Which was pretty close. Hell hath no fury like a mother scorned. I simply smirked and turned back to all the other people watching me, and I gave them an even bigger smirk. They all quickly went back to their own business. I calmly walked back to where Kakashi and Naruto were sitting. Kakashi's bowl looked like nothing had been in it, but I figured it was because he scarfed it down so fast when no one was looking. Probably took advantage of everyone staring at me instead. Naruto was on his third bowl. When he saw me walk up he gave me a small smile before slurping up more noodles.

"Momma, what wewre you doing?" He asked

"I was simply teaching people a lesson about minding their own business, that's all Naruto. It's not nice to assume things about people that you don't know."

I saw Kakashi smirk under his mask out of the corner of my eye. I merely shrugged. Naruto seemed unfazed by our silent exchange, and went back to eating his noodles.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I was racing back to the training field with Naruto on my back, laughing the entire time. Why? Because I was in a race.

"_Momma momma! I want a pwiggyback wide!" Naruto asked me, jumped up and down with his arms stretched out at me. _

_I laughed, dimissed Naomi into a scroll, and picked him up, swinging him onto my back._

"_A piggyback ride you ask? Well, a piggyback ride I will give!" I shouted._

_I start running around and hopping, jostling a laughing Naruto on my back. I laughed along with him, enjoying it just as much as him. I noticed Kakashi smiling at us, and decided to include him in on the fun._

"_C'mon Kakashi! I'll race you to the training field!" Naruto shouted in joy, givng a loud 'giddy-up horsey!'_

_Kakashi faltered in his steps, as if it had been a long time since anyone has asked him to do something fun and childish as racing to the training field. I saw him begin to shake his head no, but I hip-checked him, which sent him stumbling into a nearby wall._

"_C'mon loser, I'm getting a head star-" My shout of glee was quickly disrupted by something white flashing past me. I stumbled a bit before I took off myself._

"_No ya don't!" I yelled. I quickly jumped onto a nearby roof and start sprinting, trying to catch up to Kakashi._

"I'M GONNA WIN!" I shouted gleefully, Kakashi was right beside me. Naruto let out a few hoots of excitement, clearly enjoying the fact he was getting a piggyback ride while I was running at a blurring speed. I held Naruto's legs close to my sides, and was bent down low so that he could get a good grip on my neck. I was just about to put foot onto the training field when there was a puff of smoke in front of me, and I collided head first into a very solid chest. Whoever was in front of me, quickly went sprawling back, as I landed on top of them, Naruto still on my back. I let out a small groan of pain. I could see stars swirl around my head. Naruto was sitting on my back now, clapping his hands in glee, shouting 'Momma won!'.

I carefully picked my head up, careful not to bend my back so as to not send Naruto flying off my back. My eyes looked up to meet a single dark eye.

Kakashi's PoV

I let out a small groan as I laid on my back, with two people's added weight on top on me.

'Well, it is my fault. I did cheat I guess. Though she didn't exactly make any rules against it…'

I mentally slapped myself for being so childish. Sonya, who was still on top of me let out a small groan of her own. Naruto was on her back letting out squeals of glee. I bent my head down, making sure she was alright. She slowly lifted her head up, and her eyes met mine. I thought she was about to start yelling at me for cheating. But she slowly raised her hand up, and…

Poked me in the forehead …

"I win!" She chirped in a cheerful voice. She must've sensed my confusion, because she just looked at me and smirked. She turned her head back so that she could speak to Naruto.

"Hey sweety, could you get off mommy's back? I think Kakashi wants to let up. We might squish him under your heavy weight!"

Naruto stuck out his bottom lip and pouted, but got off her back.

"I'm not fat!" He shouted at her

She just smirked and lifted herself off me. She held out a hand to me, helping me stand up. After I was on my feet she dusted her clothing off. She looked back at Naruto and with a childish grin stuck her tongue at him.

"Yes you are! All that ramen is getting to you!" She remarked playfully.

Naruto looked devastated, and then quickly mad. Sonya just laughed and picked him up. She nuzzled the top of his head with her nose before assuring him he was indeed not fat. Naruto calmed down after hearing this. While those two played with each other I turned around to see the Hokage staring at us, a small grin on his lips. I slowly walked over to where he was standing. He just smiled and continued to watch Naruto and Sonya play. She was tossing him up into the air and catching him.

"I think Naruto has found himself a fine mother." The Hokage spoke suddenly.

I silently nodded my head in agreement.

"We decided that her fight with Gai was enough, at least for today. She's strong enough to be able to protect Naruto. We decided she would be granted citizenship, and the rank of jõnin."

I was a bit surprised that they had cancelled my fight, and that she was automatically a jõnin. I was rather looking forward to testing out her abilities. But in the end, it didn't matter.

"Hai Hokage." I replied and walked back to Sonya.

She was sitting on the ground with Naruto sprawled out on his back on her lap. She was tickling him and blowing raspberries on his belly. He was shrieking out laughs at the top of his lungs. I smiled, thinking how much of a family they already were.

"So, ready to get your butt whooped Kakashi?" She asked suddenly.

I gave a small 'hmph'.

"Fortunately for you, they decided your taijutsu skills were good enough to not have to worry about you being able to protect Naruto. They cancelled our fight, and you've been made a citizen, and given you the rank jõnin."

A corner of her mouth tugged down, and she raised an eyebrow, obviously disappointed.

"I'm a jõnin already? I mean, I'm great and all but I would've thought I would have to go through trials." She smirked.

I merely shrugged. She let out a small sigh before turning to look at Naruto.

"Well, c'mon kit, if momma doesn't have to do any more tests, we need to go shopping!"

She picked him up, and swung him onto her shoulders. She turned back one last time, and gave me a wink.

"Later Kakashi. One day we'll need to have a spar, ja?" She turned and walked away, casually lifting her hand to wave goodbye. Naruto rapidly waved his small hand at me for goodbye. I chuckled at raised my own hand up to wave goodbye.

'That woman is an interesting one …'


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

3 years later

Naruto's PoV

"_C'mon Naruto, let's go get some ramen for breakfast!" I heard my mom call out._

_I squealed gleefully at ran after her. The entire town was at ichiraku's, greeting me and telling me good morning._

_Me and mom were happily slurping our ramen down._

"_Naruto, let's eat here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, FOREVER!" My mom shouted out!  
"YEAH!" I pumped my first into the air, and was getting ready to slurp some more ramen when …_

"_**WAKE UP NARUTO!" **_

I gasped, and jolted out of bed, landing on my head.

"Owwie!" I said, slowly rubbing the bump that was rapidly growing on the back of my head.

I slowly opened my eyes to see a familiar face looking down at me, grinning from ear to ear.

"C'mon sleepy-head! It's the Sakura festival today! We need to get ready! Let's goooooo!" My mom shouted, jumping up and down on my bed.

I groaned, and got ready for the day.

Sonya's PoV

After scaring the crap out of Naruto and waking him up. I proceeded to us ready for the festival. I was extremely excited; Naruto (now 6) was old in enough in my opinion to really appreciate this festival. Plus, it was a great time to wear a new pretty kimono. I already had one picked out. Since my sandy gold hair had grown to mid-back I usually had to put it up to keep it out of the way if I was training.

I gave Naruto a bath before I let myself have one too. I put Naruto in a silk black and grey men's kimono, while I wore a yellow kimono with white petal designs on it, with a light pink obi. When I was little, I always looked forward to the Sakura Festival. It was a fun time to listen to music, eat some awesome

home-cooked food, enjoy a picnic under the sakura trees, dance, and all sorts of other crafts! I invited Kakashi to come with us, but I wasn't really sure if he'd show up. That man was always stupid late to things …

I made sure to pack extra money with me so that I could buy extra little goodies for Naruto. I also wasn't sure how much my little kit was going to eat … I sweat-dropped at the amount of ramen that boy could eat.

I was also nervous about going to the festival. I had been Naruto's mom for about 3 years now, and everyone knew not to screw with me or my son else they'd end up dead for in the hospital. I once had three thugs try and corner us in an alley. Lucky for them, I didn't quite kill them, Kakashi intervened at the last second (by swinging me((which I loudly let him know my anger at him)) and Naruto over his shoulders and dropping us off at our house while he went and got the medic nins …). There were a lot of people bound to come out for the festival, and I didn't want Naruto getting separated from us. There was also supposed to be some ambassadors from Suna come, so lots of people would be there to get a good look at em'. Rumors were that Gaara of the sand might be coming too. I didn't really understand what was so important about that. I've obviously been living under a rock the past few years … Something about his father was a jerk to him and he had the one tailed raccoon in him? Something along those lines, I'm sure I'll figure it out later …

I carefully slipped a few kunai in my obi, just in case I need to put some people in their places, and I wore my purple forehead protector as a headband to keep the hair out of my eyes. I went down stairs and cooked up a picnic lunch for us (which consists of three bento boxes! My favorites!) . After making sure everything was in order, it was time to leave.

"Let's go shrimp! We're going to have a fun day today!" I shouted to Naruto.

He gave me a glare at calling him shrimp, but quickly ran to my side.

"Ok Naruto, you need to stay by my side the entire time. I don't want us getting separated and me or Kakashi having to come save you." I reminded him.

"Don't worry mom, I won't, believe it!" He merely nodded at me and gave me a smile.

"That's my boy." I said with a smile and ruffled his hair.

He gave out a small groan and stuck out his tongue out at me and tried to fix his hair. I gave him a small laugh while we walked to the festival.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

We made it to the festival ok. Only a few dirty looks today, phew. It seems everyone is too happy to try and make me mad today … which is a good thing, because I'm not in the mood to kill anyone …

I bought some dango for myself and Naruto, and kept a third skewer for whenever Kakashi showed up. It shocked me that Naruto had never had dango before, but I was happy that I got to be the first person he ate it with. Luckily, we didn't have to wait very long for Kakashi …

"Yo." A casual voice remarked behind me.

"GAH!" I jumped about two feet in the air at the sudden voice.

I heard Naruto snicker behind me. I turned around to glare at Kakashi.

"Ugh, you enjoy sneaking up on me and scaring me don't you?" I asked, a dark aura around me …

Kakashi's visible eye just curved in a smile.

"Now, why would I enjoy that? Besides you're a shinobi, you should always be alert." He remarked in a smug tone.

I went to hit him upside the head, but he nimbly dodged out of the way and smirked at me. I just grumbled and handed him his dango.

We went over to some sakura trees and I pulled out my three bento boxes (which I had stuffed in my obi, these things are amazing for holding stuff!). We enjoyed our lunch, and afterwards I played with Naruto.

"Rawr! You can't escape the Mom Monster! It's IMPOSSIBLE!" I roared at Naruto.

"Eek! Kakashi help me!" cried Naruto

I smirked thinking Kakashi would be too lazy to try and get up and help, and went back to my attempts at trying to catch Naruto and tickle him. I was sadly wrong ...

Suddenly, I was grabbed from behind and locked in a bear hug.

"Quick Naruto, tickle her back while I have her pinned." Kakashi said.

Naruto got an evil glint in his eyes and pounced on the chance to get revenge at his mom. Soon, I was being tickled mercilessly by both guys. I was squirming on the ground crying with laughter while Naruto was on top of my stomach tickling my neck and arms, while Kakashi was to the side, getting my knees and sides.

"BWAAAH! N-No! St-Stop it! Hahahahah, no! No more! Gah, ahahaha, I'm going to w-wet m-myself! N-No, h-have – mmm-mercy! Ahahahah!" I yelled out while being tickled.

"What do you think Naruto, should we grant her mercy?" Asked Kakashi in a smug voice.

Naruto stopped tickling me before he replied.

"Yeah, I think we tickled momma enough, if we tickle her anymore I think she might die from laughing."

Kakashi chuckled and the tickling stopped. I gasped in huge amounts of air, desperately trying to get as much in as I had lost. I could feel my face was flushed from all the laughing and wiggling. I turned to glare playfully at Naruto and Kakashi and reached up to poke both of their foreheads.

"You two are _sooooo_ going to get it one day." I said in a playful tone.

Kakashi just smirked at me and Naruto grinned at me. Suddenly, we heard a huge commotion coming from the main area of the festival. I sat up on the grass to see what was going on. I noticed Suna banners waving over everyone.

"I guess the Suna ambassadors are here finally." I remarked

"I need to go keep an eye on the Hokage and make sure nothing happens. I'll try and catch you later." Kakashi said.

I nodded at him and stood up. I grabbed Naruto and put him on my shoulders.

"C'mon kit, let's go see if we can't catch a glimpse at our visitors."

I walked over to the side of where most of the tents and stands were at. There was a large walkway down the middle that lead to the main stage of the festival. I saw a few fancily dressed people walk in front with several shinobi nearby. Finally towards the end of the line I noticed three kids. Two older ones, a grumpy looking boy with a hat on his head(which looked like a cat), and a girl with sandy blond hair in two large ponytails. In front of them I noticed a younger boy with crimson red hair. He had dark lines around his eyes, showing that he had insomnia. He also looked rather grumpy and depressed. He had the word 'love' tattooed on his forehead. I could sense he had a lot of chakra, very similar to Naruto's.

'Yep, jinchũriki.'

Finally the entourage made it to the main stage where our Hokage was seated at. He got up to greet them. After all the pleasantries were aside, the Hokage got up to speak to the crowd. He welcomed everyone here, and thanked us for coming. He explained to us the origins of the sakura festival, and also said that how this year, we were also celebrating our ties to Suna. After his speech was over, everyone cheered, and the main plays and dances began.

I got to dance with Naruto a few times, and when we watched a few plays I got to quote everything they were saying. Hey, just because I was a bounty hunter didn't mean I didn't enjoy the fine arts. Naruto kept hitting me to get me to shut up.

I went up with Naruto to the dango stand to get him some more since he seemed to never be full. Darn kid was a bottomless. Then I noticed the small grumpy kid from earlier. Gaara I believe. He was all alone in a field next to the sakura trees, where we had our picnic earlier. He seemed … lonely. I quickly ordered two dango skewers and with Naruto I walked over to Gaara. He turned to glare at me, as if trying to scare me away.

"Scaring me with your glares ain't gonna work kid. Here, I bought you some dango." I offered him the dango skewer. He looked suspiciously at it, as if trying to see if it was poisoned.

"Don't worry kid, I'm not trying to poison you. You look like you need some company. Want to play with me and Naruto after you're done?" I asked, kneeling down next to him.

He looked shocked. He looked back and forth between Naruto and myself, and finally, the dango. He took a small bite out of it, and slowly chewed. His eyes went from suspicious, to curious at the new food.

"First time eating dango?" I asked.

He gave me a small nod before continuing.

"I had my first one too today!" Yelled Naruto.

"Want to come play with me?" Naruto quickly added.

Gaara hesitated before giving a small nod. He looked a bit at a loss though, since he still had some dango left. I chuckled, and offered my hand.

"Here, want me to hold that for you while you play?" I asked

"Y-yes, thank you." Gaara said in a small voice.

He quickly handed me his dango, before he went off to Naruto. They played for awhile, rolling around in sakura petals or throwing them at each other. They played tag for a bit, and then I felt Kakashi walk beside me.

Before he could ask what I was doing, I quickly handed him the leftover dango and ran over to Naruto and Gaara, eager to get in on the fun.

"Hold the dango for me Kakashi! I wanna go play!" I shouted to him.

Kakashi's PoV

Sonya ran off before I was able to ask what she was doing. I saw her sprint over to Naruto and Gaara. Naruto gave a small squeak before he yelled to Gaara to run away from the 'Mom Monster'. Gaara looked confused as Sonya approached him. I could see she was being careful with her approach, not wanting to scare Gaara. Before I could call out to her that trying to touch him would be a bad idea, she knelt down and snaked out a hand to one of his sides to give a small tickle. Gaara's face twisted into a giggle, and then quickly back to confusion, as if trying to figure out what sound he just produced. Sonya seemed to take this as a good sign and gave him a large grin before giving him a full-blown tickle attack. As Gaara was shrieking with laughter on the ground, I was just standing here, dumbfounded. Our reports on Gaara of the Sand were that his sand protected him from anything and anyone. The fact that Sonya was sitting there tickling him obviously meant something different.

Just as I was about to walk up to the pair, I felt two people come from behind me. I looked back to see Kankuro and Temari gaping like fish as they watched their little brother be tickled. They seemed as equally shocked as me.

"She … She's not supposed to be able to do that! Gaara's sand protects him from anything, even we can't touch him, and we're his siblings!" Temari exclaimed.

"I think Gaara's sand doesn't think that lady is a threat, else she would be dead by now." Kankuro said.

Sonya was currently letting Gaara ride on her shoulders while she held Naruto's hand and came back to us. She smiled before she looked to see the rest of the Sand siblings.

"Oh, hello there! You must be Gaara's brother and sister, ja? Nice to meet you!" She held out a hand to them to shake.

They just stared at her like she had grown two heads. Sonya suddenly looked nervous and seemed like she was about to withdraw her hand before Kankuro took it.

"I'm Kankuro, and this our sister Temari. We're the Sand siblings. I'm amazed you're still alive."

She cocked her head at Kankuro questioningly. Before Kankuro could explain, Gaara spoke up.

"She's a nice lady. The sand likes her." He said quietly.

Kankuro and Temari looked surprised. Kankuro looked like he accepted the fact, but Temari still looked disbelieving. I was disbelieving myself, but the fact that Gaara's sand hadn't attacked Sonya yet led me to believe that indeed Shukaku did not perceive Sonya as a threat.

"Would you like to join us for dinner?" Sonya asked suddenly.

Kankuro raised an eyebrow but gave a curt nod. Temari stood there frozen for a few seconds, before she spoke.

"T-that, would be wonderful, thank you." She said in a small voice

I merely smiled and gave a nod myself.

"Wonderful! Let's meet up here in about half an hour, so that we can get a few more things finished before we leave." Sonya said gleefully.


	12. Chapter 12

I'M SO SOOORRRY!

I haven't been able to really sit down and do much because my great-aunt is dying of cancer

Bummer ...

So I've been having to run around like a chicken with my head cut off

Not literally …

But you get the point

THANK YOU IF YOU REVIEWED!  
It made me feel all warm and fuzzy, and wanted!

I didn't know anyone actually read this story

Heheheh …. *sweatdrop*

Anyways, enjoy this new chapter!

-coughcough- I owns nothings …

Enjoy ^_^

Chapter 11

Sonya's PoV

I took Gaara and Naruto with me to the store. I need to buy a few items so that I could cook dinner. I was excited that I had company over. Kakashi usually came over two or three times a week, if he wasn't on a mission, to have dinner or lunch with us. It was nice having Kakashi around, he helped me out around the house and it was nice that he was there so that he could help me with Naruto's upcoming training. I knew very soon I'd need to start training Naruto for the ninja academy, especially since he was already showing a lot of potential.

Gaara seemed content with walking around the town. I could always see confusion in his eyes, but instead of being grumpy or depressed he seemed content, at least for the time being.

We passed by a toy store after I had bought my groceries. Naruto always begged to go into that place every time we passed it. This time was no different.

"Momma Momma! Can we please go into the toy store? Pleeaaassseeeeeee?" Naruto begged me.

Gaara looked curious as to what the big deal was. I just sighed.

"Alright, fine, but only because Gaara is here and we should buy him a gift."

We stepped into the store to look around. It was filled with all sorts of neat things, ranging from stuffed animals, to puppets, to books. The store keeper, Hizuma, greeted us from the front desk.

"I see you're back again Naruto, made your mom cave in from the puppy eyes again, eh?" He said with a knowing grin.

Naruto just gave him a toothy grin before running somewhere else to go look for something.

"I see you brought a new person today Sonya. And who might you be sonny?" Hizuma gestured to Gaara.

Gaara merely glanced at Hizuma with an unreadable expression.

"Heheh, this is Gaara! He's visiting from Suna, and I get to make dinner for his family, including Kakashi." I explained with a huge grin.

"Oooh, dinner from the great Sonya! You should be honored sonny, not everyone has the chance to have some of her wonderful cooking." Hizuma said with a smile.

Gaara was preoccupied while Hizuma was talking to him though, I looked to see what he was staring at, and I saw he was looking at the puppet and marionette section.

I walked over and gestured for him to follow me.

"I've always loved marionettes! Especially furry ones … Like goats! I used to have a giant goat puppet! It was fun to play with even though I had no idea how to use the strings!" I jabbered, trying to get Gaara interested in something.

He was quietly examining the puppets, one by one. I wasn't sure if he was looking for something in particular or not. I tried looking through all the shelves to see if anything caught my eye, but it seemed Gaara found something before me.

He picked up a small panda puppet. It had a smiling face, but even so it looked realistic. It fit on his whole hand, so that he could make the mouth move.

"Ooh, good choice! I'll buy that for if you want?" I offered.

He glanced up a bit shyly at me, and gave me a small nod.

I smiled at him and grabbed two more puppets, a small white goat and a small fox so that me and Naruto could play with him if we wanted. I knew I would ... I love goats.

We walked back to the register, puppets in hand, and I yelled at Naruto to hurry up and get something.

He soon came running up with a huge book in his hand, and a toothy grin. I was more curious about the book; Naruto never struck me as a reader, even if he was only six.

I turned my head to the side to read the title.

'_100 Ways to Prank Someone'_

"Oh dear, I see you've come across the prank books Naruto." Hizuma said with a sly grin.

Naruto just gave him a grin that yelled 'TROUBLEMAKER'.

"I'm going to regret buying this, I can already tell. My child, the infamous prankster." I groaned.

After buying our stuff and waving Hizuma goodbye, we walked out into the street and started making our way back toward our meeting point at the festival grounds, we had at least 10 minutes to spare.

Gaara was busy making the mouth on his panda puppet move and Naruto was playing with his fox puppet too. I smiled at myself, happy they were content.

I hummed quietly to myself while we were walking, swinging my grocery bags back and forth, completely content on just walking with the boys back.

I sensed an unfamiliar chakra signature nearby, but I didn't really think much of it, after all, we WERE in a shinobi village, there were bound to be lots of ninja.

That was, until I noticed it was following us.

I tensed and stopped; the boys stopped with me and looked up at me quizzically.

I held my finger to my mouth, signaling for silence from their pending questions. I listened trying to hear where he was. He had stopped and covered his chakra not so long before.

Suddenly, I heard something whiz towards me.

I grabbed the boys and quickly jumped out of the way from the incoming kunai.

"Protecting multiple demons now, eh bitch?"

MWAHAHAHAHA CLIFF-HANGER!

….

Have no fear, I'm actually sitting at my desk working on the next chapter, just thought I'd go ahead and post this!

Anyways

DUN DUUN DUUUUUN!

A bad guy! Oh gnoes!

Let's hope Sonya whoops his arse

Also, this chapter was delayed. The site was screwy for like 2 weeks for me

Sorries!


	13. Chapter 13

Yo!  
I finally get to write chapter 13 now!  
Yay!

The site was being stupid for awhile, so I waited it out before I started to update.

And HUZZAH! I am now sitting at my desk, drinking coke and eating sour patch kids, updating my story to my immense pleasure.

Yet again, I own nothing … because if I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfic ….

Chapter 13

I quickly pushed Naruto and Gaara behind me and dropped my grocery bags. I set into a defensive crouch while I glared at the man who tried to attack us.

"They said you were strong and rightly to be feared, but I see nothing but a dressed up doll and two snot nosed brats in front of me."

I growled softly at his insults, but made no move.

Slowly, the man stepped out of the shadows to face us. He had dark black hair and muddled dark brown eyes. His lips were upturned into a smirk and he was casually twirling a kunai in his hand. His eyes showed every intent to kill.

I immensely disliked him.

"Well, anything to say for yourself?" the man asked with a sneer.

I straightened up and glared at the man.

"Naruto. Gaara. Move back and stay behind me, do not move to help."

I pulled out two kunai from my obi and settled into a fighting stance.

The man in front of me just smirked and got into a fighting position himself.

I quickly scanned the area to see anything that I could use to my advantage. Nothing really, I was in an alley way that had nothing in it save for a few pieces of garbage and rocks.

Suddenly, the man in front of me lunged. I quickly blocked his attack before raising my leg up to kick. He dodged and threw three kunai my way. I rolled out of the way before they could hit my and proceeded to lunge out of my low crouch to tackle the man. Unfortunately for me this kimono didn't have much leg room and restricted the speed that I lunged. Doubly unfortunate, the man seemed to notice.

He quickly moved to the side and was able to score a slash to my shoulder.

I hissed in pain as I skidded around to face him again.

He was smirking. Damn that cocky smirk, I was so ready to smack it right off his face. I threw my two kunai at him and proceeded to use the distraction to do a few handsigns for a jutsu.

I summoned three shadow clones to fight beside me, two for the man, and one for protecting Naruto and Gaara. I didn't want to summon many because I was in a small alley and it didn't provide much room for fighting.

I ripped off the skirt of the kimono to about mid thigh, mentally cursing myself for such a waste of fine material. At the very least the sleeves of the kimono weren't getting on my way.

'When I get out of this mess I'm going to go shopping for another dress!' I mentally shouted.

The man quickly dispatched my shadow clones but it was all the time I needed. I quickly did a few more handsigns and charged my fist up with lighting. I snarled and rammed my fist into the man's chest, satisfied with the electric crackles ringing through the air.

I smirked a bit, happy at my victory, but it was short lived. The man I hit suddenly poofed, and my eyes widened in realization.

I heard something whiz from behind me, but I was only able to sidestep to give it my shoulder rather than my back. I snarled in pain as I quickly ripped the shuriken out of my already injured shoulder.

"Though you had me, eh?" the man said while smirking.

I was livid. I was making stupid beginner mistakes and was getting my ass handed to me by a guy I didn't even know. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Naruto and Gaara. Naruto looked pissed, but Gaara's face showed nothing but cold hatred, something that scared me more than Naruto's anger.

Suddenly, I saw something inching toward the man's foot. Not wanting to give anything away, I quickly refocused on the man in front of me.

"Yeah, I did. My mistake." I growled out.

The just smirked. AGAIN. I quickly settled back into my fighting stance as he did the same. Just as the man was about to move, something shot up and wrapped around his leg.

The man gasped and looked down to see his left leg quickly be encased in something. I was too shocked myself to see what it was until I focused my gaze on it.

Was that … sand?  
I quickly connected my thought and quickly moved my gaze to Gaara. I saw little trails of sand leaving him and slithering up to the man in front of me.

I looked back to find the man already up to his waist in sand. He was struggling and jerking trying to escape.

"What kind of trick is this? Release me!" the man demanded.

Before I could answer, Gaara spoke up.

"No."

The sand quickly made its way up the man's arms and chest. Slowly, I saw Gaara raise up his small open hand.

The man struggled more and more and was yelling and screaming, trying to escape whatever it was that was holding him. I was too dumbfounded to really do anything but watch, fascinated and a bit scared by what I was watching. I was amazed that this 7 year old was able to do this, but I knew that his jinchũriki was helping him. I also knew that this couldn't end well, but I didn't want to interrupt Gaara and have myself included in the sand encasement also.

As the sand finished wrapping around the man, Gaara raised his hand a bit more, and then suddenly squeezed it, as if he was squeezing something in his hand

"Die. **Sand Coffin**."

I saw the sand shift, and then squeeze around the man. I heard a final scream, and something warm and gooey splashed across my face and clothes. It took me a moment to realize that blood had been practically shot out of the sand encasement. The sand quickly left and traveled back to Gaara, settling back in his clothes and creating armor around his skin. What was left behind was the mutilated remains of the man who had attacked us. I blinked in surprise, and the only thing I could come up with is …

"Well damn …" I muttered looking at the mess in front of me.

I glanced back over Naruto and Gaara. Naruto looked equally surprised, and kept looking between the corpse and Gaara, trying to connect the dots, but had a look of indifference on his face. Slowly, I saw his eyes gaze up to me, and I thought I saw a flicker of fear flash through them, but it was gone as quickly as it came.

"If you think me a monster, I shall return to where the rest of the Suna entourage is." Gaara said in a lowered voice.

I quickly snapped out of my surprise and snorted.

"As if. You were just protecting us Gaara, believe me, I'm no stranger to odd deaths." I retorted, a bit angry at his assumption.

Gaara looked a bit surprised at my answer, but Naruto spoke up also.

"Yeah! That guy was trying to beat up my mom! You saved her Gaara, and you have _my _thanks!" yelled Naruto.

I saw Naruto quickly step forward and wrap Gaara in a hug. I awh'd at the sight, it was just too cute, especially since Naruto was at least a few inches taller and easily enveloped Gaara.

I gave one last glace at Naruto and Gaara before looking back to the corpse of the man that had attacked. I sighed.

"This will be so _fun_ to explain to Kakashi why I was late with his dinner and have a ripped kimono, and to Gramps and probably Gaara's dad why there's a dead Konoha ninja in an alley way …" I muttered under my breath.

I retrieved my grocery bags, happy at least that they had surivived the attack (Huzzah! I can still cook!) and made my way back to Naruto and Gaara.

"Alright boys, let's see if we can make it back to the meeting place without anymore suprises."

Well, maybe it wasn't Sonya who whooped the bad guy's arse

But at the very least he had it coming to him

GO GAARA!


	14. Chapter 14

Ahhh!

Hello!

I got sick … Again

Got a really bad stomach bug, so I didn't really have jumping enthusiasm to hop on my comp and start typing.

But I was listening to some opening and closing theme songs for different anime, Bulsa and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood are my favorite, and then I went found a Naruto one, I don't remember if it's opening or closing, but just youtube Naruto wind theme, I think it's the very first closing theme for the anime…. Right, anyways, and decided I needed to start updating.

ENJOY!  
I own nothings!

Chapter 14

Kakashi's PoV

"I don't understand how you can sit there and be so nonchalant about the while situation."

"I was attacked, I fought, I was wounded, Gaara protected me, I went and got you and Kankuro and Temari at the meeting place, and then I went home and cooked dinner. …. I don't understand, what's the problem!"

I sighed and ran a hand over my face. Sonya can be stubborn and frustrating when she wanted to. Especially right now. To think, this woman was a ninja. Sometimes I wonder how she survived for so long.

Sonya's PoV

"You're being frustrating." I heard Kakashi mumble

"What! _I'M_ being frustrating? I'm answering truthfully! Let me repeat you stupid-" I would've continued my rant but the Hokage and Kazekage stepped into the office Kakashi and I were currently sitting in.

My face split into a huge grin and I waved furiously at Gramps. I think my grin got even wider as I saw Gaara step out from behind his dad.

"Gaara! Come here and give me a hug!"

Gaara gave me a small smile before closing the distance between us, and pulled him into a hug and twirled around.

After I set Gaara back on his feet, I turned to face my audience. Gramps looked amused, Kakashi was still irritated, and the Kazekage just stood there … staring at me … creeeeeeepy …

Clearing my throat awkwardly under all the stares, I broke the silence.

"Uhm, welcome Kazekage, I hope you've had a uhh, pleasant day so far?"

He just raised an eyebrow.

And continued to stare.

Damn him and that stare!

"Indeed. I must say, it would have been more pleasant had I not received reports that my son killed someone to protect an unknown woman and her adopted son."

"Heheh, yeah, I imagine my day would've gone better too." I laughed nervously.

I got bad vibes from this guy. Like, REALLY bad vibes. If I didn't know who he was and someone mentioned him as a father, I would've sent my condolences to the wife and children. I wanted nothing more than to either shrink under his stare, or smack him.

I sat down and pulled Gaara onto my lap. He looked at me curiously and I just smiled. He relaxed and slumped against my chest, and I just held him, perfectly content.

"I also have yet to understand why Gaara is so at ease around you. He lets no one touch him." The Kazekage stated.

"Well, maybe he likes me more than you." I shot back.

Kakashi glared at me.

Gramps looked amused.

The Kazekage just stared.

Damn him!

"Indeed. Be that as it may, I believe it's time for Gaara and I to go back to our hotel." The Kazekage said.

"No."

I looked at Gaara in surprise. Did he just say that?

And that's when I saw the tiniest hint of a frown on the Kazekage's face.

Huzzah!

"No?" the Kazekage questioned.

"I don't want to go back. I want to remain here, with Sonya."

A full blown frown from the Kazekage.

Score 2 for Gaara!

"You say that like you want to stay here forever." The Kazekage stated.

"I like it better than in Suna. I want to remain here."

And that's when the Kazekage started to look angry.

At me.

Well damn.

Score 1 for Kazekage, 2 for Gaara.

Suddenly, Gramps cleared his throat.

"It might improve relations between our villages even better if Gaara was allowed to stay here and train. I would allow him to stay with Sonya, she is an able jõnin."

"Yes, she displayed such ability when she was attacked and wounded _twice_ while battling an unknown shinobi." The Kazekage sneered.

And the points are all tied up …

My now bandaged shoulder throbbed pitifully in response.

"I can assure you it won't happen again Kazekage. I'll be sure to keep careful watch on those two. Besides, despite the slip up, Sonya is indeed a ninja worthy of the rank jõnin." Kakashi stated.

I gave Kakashi a beaming smile. His eye curved into a smile in response.

2 for Kazekage, 3 for team Gaara! Huzzah!

The Kazekage 'hmphed' in reply. With one last glare at me he turned to leave.

"I will allow it. Hokage, if you would be so kind as to show me the paperwork." He addressed Gramps over his shoulder.

Gramps merely nodded and gave us a small wave as he began to walk after the Kazekage.

When they were a safe distance away, I shouted and jumped up, spinning Gaara in a bear hug.

"HUZZAH! Gaara, you're totally awesome! I can't wait! It's going to be so fun! I get to show you around the village, and I get to help you train, oh! And you get to practically be Naruto's brother! Bwaah this will be so exciting-!" I stopped my enthusiasm when I heard Kakashi clear his throat, expectantly almost.

"Awwwh, is Kakashi feeling left out?" I grinned.

I walked up, and then enveloped Kakashi in a hug and started spinning him around too!

"Argh!" I heard Kakashi yell, though it was a bit muffled because I had his face shoved into my chest. I wonder if there's death by cleavage? I'll have to look that up …

Suddenly, Kakashi managed to plant both feet on the ground, and I found myself in an equally bone-crushing hug.

As Kakashi glared at me, I just smirked back. And what was once a hug, was now practically wrestling. Both of us were trying to lift each other off their feet. Or we were simply trying to crush each other. Dangerous sparks erupted between our gazes.

And then I smiled and loosened my grip, and nuzzled my face into his chest.

"Thanks Kakashi! I think this wouldn't have gone as smooth as it did without you speaking up for me. I really appreciate it." I whispered into his chest.

His grip loosened and he hugged me back.

"Anytime." I heard him whisper.

Our moment was ruined when a certain green spandex man stepped in.

"AHHH! KAKASHI MY RIVAL! Who do you have behind you!" I heard Gai yell.

Startled, we jumped back away from each other. I sighed and went to go and pick up Gaara.

"Sonya! It has been too long! TELL ME KAKASHI HAS NOT BEEN HARRASSING YOU!"

I sighed pitifully before answering.

"No Gai, he's been perfectly fine. Yes, nice seeing you too. If you don't mind, I'm going to go head back home now. Naruto and the sand siblings are probably wondering where I'm at."

"HOLD! The Hokage has requested Kakashi to a meeting! And so my beautiful flower you shall have to be escorted! BY NONE OTHER THAN-!"

"Me."

Gai's enthusiastic yelling was halted by someone else joining us.

He was rather tall, black hair pulled into a loose ponytail, with two lines running down either cheek. His face was a mask of indifference. Cold almost. I wonder if he ever smiled?

"Itachi, what are you doing here?" I heard Kakashi ask.

"The Hokage has also requested that Gai be allowed into the meeting. He has asked me to escort Sonya home."

I just blinked. I crept forward to Itachi, and stared at him.

And then I poked him in the arm.

His eye twitched.

"Huzzah! I made you react!" I grinned triumphantly.

He continued to stare at me like I was insane.

I shifted Gaara on my hip, and then grinned.

"Ready to go home Gaara? Naruto will be so happy to see you again! I'll cook us some dinner when we get back!"

Gaara gave a small nod and smile.

I turned to address Itachi.

"Sorry, I had to make sure you were alive. Your emotionless face was beginning to get on my nerves."

His lips twitched into a small smile.

"Heheh, I win!"

He continued to smile, and held the door open for me to walk out.

I smiled and thanked him, and then I turned back to shout at Kakashi.

"Night Kakashi! You better come visit me after the meeting! Else I'll be forced to hunt you down and beat you! Don't you doubt it!" I shouted after him, and waved frantically goodbye.

He just smirked.

"Never would."


	15. Chapter 15

Aughhh !  
I'm sorry that it's been so long guys !  
It's the end of the school year, so I've really had to crack down on my work, and so, me being god awful lazy, I tend to procrastinate on most things …

Shame really … A/B student … and yet I can't stand homework …

So anyways, final exams are NEXT week !

Can you believe it ?  
I know I can't …

But at least this means I'll have more time to write with summer on its way ! Yay !

Anyways, ENJOY ! I've been meaning to write this for weeks now, just haven't had the time !

* * *

Sonya's PoV

I fell back onto my bed with a tired sigh.

After Itaachi escorted me had escorted me home (that man is creepily silent … I was tempted just to keep poking him for a reaction, but the sneaky bastard stayed out of arms reach) I sent Naruto to bed, and though Gaara didn't sleep, he agreed to stay in the small makeshift mattress that I had set up for, at least until I went out and bought another bed. I was concerned that Gaara didn't want to be left alone, but Naruto assured me that he would keep him company by talking until he fell asleep.

Cracking my shoulder and wincing at the bandage I had on it, I went over my mental checklist of that day.

_Take Naruto to the festival ? Check_

_Have fun ? Check _

_Meet new people ? Checkmate_

_Go to the toy store ? Checkers_

_Almost kill a guy, but instead my new son beat me to it? …_

_Double check …_

I frowned at that, but then realized what came after, which brought me to my next thought, one with a small smile.

_Get a new baby boy ?_

_Triple check_

I pondered over what I really was to Gaara. He'd never had a real mother, but neither had Naruto so I wasn't overly concerned with past maternal problems, or rather, lack of.

I was, however, slightly boggled at what my relationship with him was.

I hadn't exactly 'adopted' him, so, by title, I wasn't his mother.

But I was his guardian.

And whatever position came with that title, I was going to make sure I gave it my best.

Besides, Naruto already proved to me that blood doesn't necessarily make you someone's momma.

I was thrilled that I had another baby to coddle, but I was also scared that maybe I couldn't crack past Gaara's already shell of mistrust. He was only 6 for God's sake, and that boy had more trust problems than possibly the entire village combined.

I snorted at my thoughts, rubbing a hand over my tired face.

"I am such a damn hypocrite …"

"How old was I when I ran away to become a killer?" I asked out loud to myself.

"Well, if my memory serves me correctly, I believe you were around 13?"

I gasped and jumped off the bed, quickly turning around to see who had spoken.

It was Kakashi, standing there, next to my window, with a smug look on his face.

"You enjoy scaring me shitless, don't you, you bastard!" I yelled.

I sat down as I continued grumbling and giving a few choice swear words while he just chuckled at me. Jumping up really pulled my injured shoulder, which was not fun.

"It wasn't my intention I promise you, I was merely answering your out loud thinking." He said.

"Yeah, can't say I expected you to pop out of nowhere and answer it for me." I replied, scoffing.

Kakashi just smiled at me before continueing.

"What has your mind troubled?"

"I'm just mulling over my new situation. I have a new son, along with some cuts and bruises, I need to go buy a new mattress, I need to figure out the paperwork for being Gaara's guardian, I probably need a bigger house …" I rambled on until I felt Kakashi sit down on the bed next to me and put a comforting hand on my uninjured shoulder. He gave it a tiny squeeze.

"It'll turn out alright. You'll see. The Hokage was actually concerned that even though this is a 3 bedroom house, it might get a bit crowded, especially with two small boys, and I know after I come home from missions I crash here sometimes too. So, he might increase your jõnin payroll, and I know that I can always pitch in and help."

I took his hand off my shoulder and laced it with my own, resting my head on his shoulder. I was a touch person, if I saw you, I'd give you a pat and say hi, or if I knew you especially well, I'd give you a hug. I touched to communicate. It was just my personality. But I liked being near Kakashi, he made me feel safer, even if I knew I could whoop most people's asses. It was a comforting feeling that he was here trying to cheer me up.

Yawning, I realized sitting here with Kakashi made me realize how awfully tired I am …

* * *

Kakashi's PoV

As Sonya put her head down on my shoulder, I wrapped my arm around her back. I could feel the exhaustion and frustration rolling off her. I knew she had a lot on her plate at the moment, but I was proud that she was holding up, still going at it with a fight. Sonya was an especially important person, not just because she was the mother of Naruto, and now Gaara, but also because she was practically my best friend. In the last 3 years we'd gotten rather close, and I found myself spending more time with her than necessary, if only to be in her company. Resting my head on top of hers, I continued.

"Tomorrow in the morning, we'll go to a meeting with the Hokage and Kazekage and work out all the minor details there. It'll be fine. You'll see."

After a few seconds Sonya let out a small sound … that was vaguely close to …

A snore?

I quickly glanced down, only to encounter a sleeping Sonya.

And she was beginning to drool on my shoulder …

Chuckling at her still form, and filing away the drooling part in my mind that would later have to be used for teasing or blackmail, I shifted her and laid her down on the bed. She quickly snuggled into the pillow and curled up on her side, one leg dangling over the side of the bed, her usual sleeping position.

I quietly slipped the covers over her, and getting up turned the lights off before I ventured over to the window.

"Sleep well …" I whispered into the silent room.

* * *

I feel so much better now that I wrote that. Hopefully I can write the next chapter soon.

Review ! ^_^


	16. Chapter 16

Huzzah!  
Summer is finally here!  
Or actually, it started about a week and a half ago, but you can't blame me for making up for the lack of sleep that I've missed the entire school year …

Anyways, here I am, finally updating, because I feel rather badly about lazing around doing nothing when I really should be writing!

* * *

Sonya's PoV

I had the most distinct feeling that I was being watched …

In fact, I'm pretty sure I am being watched.

I stifled a groan, groggily rubbing my eyes, trying desperately to rub the sleep from them.

'It's far too early in the morning to be waking up, especially to my sixth sense of someone watching me._'_ I though tiredly.

And then I heard the giggling.

The giggling that was distinctly Naruto's.

'Scratch that, it's far too early in the morning for me to wake up to Naruto doing something stupid …_'_ I groaned out loud at my thoughts.

"Alright alright, I'm up, please don't burn down our house, or explode something … I don't think I could live through another attempt at you trying to cook ramen again Naruto." I shuddered at the horrible thought.

* * *

_**Flashback! **_

_**-Bang ! Clatter ! Rattle ! –**_

_I grumbled, and pulled my pillow over my head, trying my hardest to block out the loud sounds that were disturbing my rest. Cautiously I snuck my nose out from under the pillow and took a tentative sniff, faintly detecting something that smelled suspiciously like smoke … I threw the pillow aside and sat up, taking a deeper breath, trying to find the source of the smell. _

"_What's burning …?" I asked out loud … and then my eyes widened I realization._

_I raced down stairs, and jumped down the last 2 steps. I ran into the kitchen, and came upon the scene of the wreckage._

_A 5 year old Naruto had pulled out packs of instant ramen from the pantry and, and was now attempting to boil water in our little tea kettle …_

"_Shit ! Argh, what are you doing !" I yelled out, my heart rate rising dangerously high._

_Naruto was standing frozen in shock and fear at one end of the kitchen, and at the other, a towel was on fire._

"_Bwaah ! Towel on fire ! Towel on fire !" I panicked, looking for something to put the fire out with. _

_I snaked my hand out to grab the towel and then threw it to the ground, and furiously stepped on it, trying to beat out the fire with my bare feet …_

_Bare feet …_

"_ARGGGHHHH!"_

_I had succeeded in stamping out the fire, and also successfully burned the bottom of my foot …_

_Cursing in all the languages I knew I held my foot out and stuck it in the sink and turned the cold water on …_

_Finally having cooled my foot off, or rather, in the process of doing so, I diverted my attention to my 5 year old boy …_

_I felt the scowl on my face soften when I looked at him. He looked like he was about to cry, and knowing (or attempting to anyways), I realized he was just trying to make some breakfast without waking up Mom._

_I cautiously removed my foot from the sink, and being mindful of my foot, I limped over to Naruto and pulled him into my arms. He wrapped his tiny arms around my neck in a bone-crunching embrace and I felt his small frame quiver as he cried into my neck. I rubbed circles on his back as I went to sit down somewhere._

"_I- I- I'm s-s-sorrry momma! I-I-I was j-just trying to m-make some ramen!" He wailed out, hiccupping and stuttering while he spook._

"_Shh, it's ok baby, I know. It was awfully nice of you to try and let me sleep in, but if you need help baby, you can always ask me. It's alright, it was just an accident. I'm sorry I yelled, you just, startled me was all, I was afraid the entire house was burning down or something when I smelled the smoke."_

_I held him a bit longer, waiting for him to calm down. Finally he lifted his head from my neck, and I gave him a toothy grin._

"_I did something like that once, except I caught my doll on fire." Ah, good memories …_

"_Really? Was it an accident too?" He looked up at me, still sniffling a bit, but ultimately more calm than he had been. Grinning at my success, I proceeded my tale of how I caught my wonderful red-headed doll on fire …_

* * *

Despite the happy ending, I did NOT want a repeat of that.

I silently and slowly padded to the door and opened it up, only to encounter Naruto and Gaara right in front of me. Naruto had a toothy grin on his face, and was holding something behind his back …

If that didn't yell suspicion I wasn't really sure what did …

And Gaara just stared at me, though it wasn't an unnerving stare like he had done the day before.

I raised my eyebrow at the two troublemakers in front of me.

"Alright you too, what's the big idea? Naruto you 're grinning like the world's luckiest fool AND you're hiding something behind your back."

Naruto's grin just got bigger, if that was possible, and before I could question him again, he pulled out a letter behind his back and thrust it upwards into my face, letting out a 'taa daa!' with the motion.

Both of my eyebrows raised, but I took the letter that was being waved in front of my face anyways.

"Kakashi already came by this morning! You were still sleeping! He says you snore awfully loud, and that you're as deaf as an old person when you're sleeping too! He gave me this letter and said it was about making Gaara my new brother!" I felt the heat rise to my face as I heard Kakashi's comment that he had probably commanded Naruto to tell me, while Naruto proceeded to spin in circles, gleefully telling Gaara that he was his new brother. Kakashi must have snuck into my room this morning, which was probably the source of why I felt like I was being watched. I scowled as I realized I had missed the annoying man by only a few minutes at most.

I opened the letter and read what it had to say. Basically it was a summons for this morning to appear before the Hokage and sign the guardianship papers for Gaara, and then he would increase my pay raise. I saw a P.S. at the very bottom with a horrible scrawl that marked it as Kakashi's, saying that he would gladly help me look at new houses with me. I smiled and leaned against the doorway, thankful that I had Kakashi.

I got myself and the boys ready for the trip to the Hokage's office, and with a quick breakfast of some fruit for us (with a promise of ramen later to celebrate (I can't resist Naruto's puppy eyes …)), we were off.

* * *

We walked the entire way there, because I didn't feel like carrying two 6 year olds and running all the way there. Naruo walked in front of me, and Gaara walked silently by my side. With Naruto's help I pointed at the certain shops and places and explained all the fun stuff to do in the village. We walked by Ichiraku's and Naruto shouted a good morning to Teuchi and Ayame, and a promise that we would be by later, while I just smiled sheepishly and waved at them.

Finally we made our way into the Hokage's office.

"Gramps!" Naruto yelled happily and ran up to the Hokage and gave him a hug. Hiruzen laughed heartily and greeted Naruto.

"So I take it the Kazekage already left then?" I asked after Hiruzen was done talking with Naruto.

"Indeed. He wrote out the contracts and signed what he needed, and then he and the rest of his entourage left, very early this morning." He explained to me.

'Huh, not even a goodbye or a goodluck … I sense bad juju with that one.' I thought, a bit irritated. Gaara appeared perfectly calm though.

The Hokage placed the necessary paperwork in front on me, and while I was signing everything, explained to me all my necessary duties.

"Finally, I will be increasing your jõnin pay so that you can have the means to look after both Naruto and Gaara comfortably. It should also be enough to look into getting a bigger house, as Kakashi has expressed your concerns to me." I nodded my head, once again mentally thanking Kakashi and his thoughtfulness. The man certainly came in handy when he wasn't being lazy.

"Well, everything seems fine and dandy! Kakashi offered to help me look into some new houses later on, and I promised the boys that I would take them out to lunch to celebrate." I grinned, and held up the small stack of papers and held them out for Gaara to see.

"See this Gaara? These papers now declare me as your guardian, or parent! You'll be living with me and Naruto now!" I leaned over and ruffled his hair with my free hand.

"Now c'mon, my new baby boy, let's go get some good food!"

With a quick thanks to Hiruzen, I walked of the office, holding the hands of both of my baby boys.

* * *

Bwahahahahah !  
Yay me!  
Yay Gaara !  
Anyways, I think next chapter will be house hunting

Or rather me conjuring up a big new house, buying it, begging Kakashi with the promise of cooking to help with moving/packing, and then something else

Like a home dinner in it!  
What do they call it ? A homebreaking dinner ? ...

I don' think that's the name for it, oh well, I'll think of it eventually

Was it housewarming ... ?

Bah, doesn't matter! Thanks for reading!

Sasuke is up next ! PREPARE YOURSELVES !


	17. Chapter 17

Le gasp

I'm updating so soon

I feel accomplished !

I saw the hits on my story spike up to about 300, so I'm pretty excited

Anyways ! ENJOY !

I did the disclaimer at the very beginning of the story, but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to do it before every chapter … I've seen both ways while reading stuff on FanFic

So I'll just do it now, I don't own anything except for Sonya

* * *

**A month later**

Sonya's PoV

"Pleeeeeeasseee!"

"No! I'm busy, there's a new _Icha Icha_ book I need to read!"

"_Pleeeeeeaaaaaasseeeee!"_

"Agh, no, stop the puppy eyes! You'll get nothing from me!"

"C'mon Kakashi! I'll cook your favorite!"

"… Promise?"

"Absolutely."

"Ugh, fine. You owe me chocolate chip brownies woman."

I squealed and danced around in circles, happy that I had finally bribed Kakashi into helping me move all of our stuff into our new house.

Our new house was two stories, 3 bathrooms, 5 rooms, a large den, and a HUGE kitchen. Complete with a big backyard that had a patio!

"I'm so excited about the patio! Now I can put rocking chairs out there, and just shove the boys outside so that they can release their pent up energy that all 6 year olds somehow possess! I swear, if we could bottle Naruto's energy, we could rule the world!" I gushed out. I was so happy for a new house. It was pretty expensive, but I still bought it, with the promise of upside-down strawberry cake for Kakashi to help me buy 2 new beds.

Kakashi's visible eyebrow just rose as he looked at me.

I stuck out my tongue at him, too happy to care about the fact I probably looked like a raving lunatic.

* * *

I hoisted a large box into my hands, and walked into my new house, settling it down in the barren den.

"Who knew I had so much stuff. I never realized the things I could accumulate after only 3 years …" There were an awful lot of boxes. And they were awfully heavy.

Kakashi just grunted from behind me, and I saw him walk in with 3 big boxes stacked up in his arms.

"Uhm, do be careful Kakashi. You realize there's no need to bring in so many at once right?"

He just glared at me.

"The faster I move all of your crap into your house, the faster we can get done, and the faster you can cook me dinner and brownies."

I just blinked, and then started laughing. I held my stomach as I bent over laughing.

"Heheheh, I love your logic Kakashi. The faster we get done, the faster I can make you brownies! Hah, mom was right when she said the way to a man's heart is through his stomach." I continued to laugh, before it slowly dissolved into giggles. I looked up to see Kakashi giving me a look that could kill, even if his cheeks had the faintest blush on them. He crossed his arms, and I got the impression that he was pouting.

"It isn't funny. You know I'm too lazy to cook, and you make the best brownies."

I just laughed more and walked over and pinched his cheek.

"You're so cute when you pout Kakashi."

He blushed more and I just laughed as I walked out to get more boxes.

Kakashi's PoV

That woman was infuriating.

'First she bribes me, not once, but _twice_, to help her out with her new house. And now she's sitting here, laughing at me.'

I reached my hand up to rub the spot where she pinched my cheek.

'She called me cute … I wonder if she means it …'

I shook my head, trying to dispel the thought.

'I'm not cute. I'm a killer, a ninja, why would I be cute? She's probably just teasing me …'

I lifted my hand up again to rub the spot where she touched me.

'But still … maybe …'

I shook my head again, and went outside to gather more boxes.

'The brownies had better be worth the trouble I go through for this woman …'

* * *

Sonya's PoV

"Ok Naruto and Gaara, go pick out a room for yourselves, so that Kakashi and I know where to put your boxes at."

Naruto raced up the stairs gleefully and ran into the hallway where he ran all the way to the end and picked the very first room. Gaara walked silently and slower up the stairs, but I did see a look of curiosity on his face. There were three rooms upstairs. The stairs were located at the right end of the den, and led into a hallway that hooked left. There were three bedrooms, all adjacent to one another, and at the very end of the hallway, all the way to the left was a fairly decent sized bathroom. Al the way to the right of the hallway was the washroom. Gaara slowly padded down the hallway and choose the room in the very middle. It was right next to Naruto's, which is the reason why I'm guessing he picked it. Despite the boys only having known each other for about a month, Naruto had taken it upon himself to be Gaara's buddy in whatever he did. And Gaara for that matter was Naruto's shadow. Wherever Naruto ran off to, Gaara wasn't very far behind, often silently walking behind him as Naruto ranted on and on about something.

There were two grandmaster bedrooms on the first floor. To the left side of the den, there was a hallway that led back. At the very end of the hallway, there was a door that led to the backyard patio of the house. On the right and left sides of the hallway is where the rooms where. Each room had a large bathroom connected to it. I choose the left one, and I let Kakashi have the right one to crash in after missions or when he came over to hang out.

"Mom! I call dibs on the left one!" Naruto's voice jarred me out of my thoughts.

"Alright! I'll be up there in a minute! Kakashi, could you being Gaara's boxes to the room next to Naruto's?"

He gave me a nod and we proceeded to haul the boxes upstairs into the boys' bedrooms. Naruto was sitting on the windowsill, looking out at the backyard with his face pressed up to the glass. There was a big goofy grin on his face, and I could tell that he was just as excited as me about moving. I smiled, happy to know I did something right with buying this house.

"Like the new house kiddo?" I asked, after setting his boxes down.

"Yes! It's soooo much bigger! Look at the backyard, it's huuuuge!" He turned around and jumped at me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Thanks mom!" Just as quickly as he hugged me, he let go and I heard him clatter into Gaara's room.

I grinned, absolutely beaming with happiness at Naruto's encouraging response.

* * *

I carefully pulled the chicken out of the oven, and placed it on top of the kitchen counter. I decided a full cooked chicken with mashed potatoes would be a good housewarming dinner. Afterwards I would start baking Kakashi's long awaited brownies. I brought out the plates and started setting the table.

"Boys! Dinner is ready!"

Kakashi and both of my boys were outside. I had forbidden anyone from coming into the kitchen while I cooked, knowing that Naruto gets underway, and Kakashi would whine until he was fed. Gaara could actually prove to be helpful in the kitchen, but I shooed him out anyways to go play with Naruto. Kakashi was probably outside sulking and plotting revenge on me for making him wait so long. For such a lazy man he could be awfully impatient at times.

Within seconds I heard the patio door open and shut and then heard two running sets of feet and another soft patter down the hall. Within no time I saw Kakashi and Naruto round the corner, Gaara not far behind. As they settled themselves down at the table I rolled my eyes.

"You'd think I starved you with the way you came rushing in."

"I wouldn't put it past you." Kakashi retorted.

I leveled him a glare.

"For that comment , I might have to reconsider baking those brownies after we finish eating."

Kakashi's eyes widened in horror, and he quieted down.

"Enjoy our very first meal in our new house!" I proclaimed with a shout and smile.

Everyone began eating immediately (except for Kakashi, he'd wait until we became distracted before he wolfed down his meal). Naruto rambled on about some prank he wanted to pull, and I heard Gaara give some insight on his plans. I shuddered to think the horror my boys would unleash. I'd already gotten a few complaints within the last few weeks about some small scale pranks that Naruto had set up around the village. I wasn't overly worried though, so long as he didn't do anything overly dangerous. I had taken a seat next to Kakashi and we were discussing the beds we would buy.

"Well, Naruto and Gaara both have twin sized beds, so I think I'd get another one of those for the bedroom upstairs, and another king for the other grandmaster bedroom for you."

I had finished eating so I got up to put my plate in the sink and started pulling out a pan and mixing bowl for the brownies.

"I think that would be best." I heard Kakashi behind me get the rest of the necessary ingredients.

I started to get put the batter into the bowl and add milk, and I started to stir while I waited for Kakashi to get the eggs. Then I heard a wet 'smack' sound behind me. Alarmed, I spun around, to be encountered with a very guilty looking Kakashi and a smashed egg on the floor. Without thinking I took some of the batter and flicked it at Kakashi.

"Argh, this really is a housewarming dinner. Congratulations Kakashi you get to be the first one to clean a mess up in my house."

I turned around and proceeded to get the rest of my things organized, when I felt something go 'splat' on the back of my head. Instinctively my hand flew up to grasp whatever hit me, and my fingers encountered something slimy. I realized it was egg. If that how Kakashi wanted to play, then I was all game. I hunched my shoulders over to try and give him the impression I was upset. It worked perfectly.

"Sonya, I'm really sor-"

That was all he got off before I spun around and threw a fistful of mixed brownie batter into his face.

His expression was priceless. I had managed to land the batter on his cheek and it had smeared across his face and nose. His eye was completely widened in shock, and he had his hand outreached still, probably was going to grab my shoulder to make me feel better. I bit my lip but couldn't stop a small giggle from escaping my lips.

His eye darted back to me, and I saw his face turn into an evil smirk.

The battle was on.

I quickly turned around to grab more batter. I turned back around to throw it at him but I was bombarded with eggs. I screeched and hooted with laughter. I took the entire bowl and threw it at him. He let out a yell of laughter too. I looked around for anything else. I took my milk jug and splashed him with it. He retaliated by taking the batter and dumping it on my head. We were both roaring with laughter, looking for more things to throw at each other. I was laughing so hard that I didn't see the still smashed egg on the floor. I stepped on it and began slipping. I saw Kakashi wrap his arms around my waist to try and stop me, but I think that only succeeded in me falling on top of him onto the ground. We landed with a 'thunk'. A bit dazed still, I looked to make sure Kakashi was ok. When I lifted my head up, my thoughts completely frazzled. He was already looking at me, and his face was close enough to mine that our noses were touching. I felt heat rise to my face, but without thinking I started laughing again. I felt more than heard the laughter rumble through Kakashi's chest. Still giggling I rested my head on his chest, trying to catch my breath from laughing so hard.

I heard two sets of feet running into the kitchen.

"Mommy! Are you ok?" I heard Naruto yell.

With a start, I lifted my head off of Kakashi's chest. Naruto was with Gaara, looking extremely alarmed. Gaara was staring at Kakashi with a frown on his face.

Quickly I tried to lift myself up off of Kakashi, which was a bit hampered by the fact that he still had his arms around my waist.

"Hah, yeah I'm fine sweetie. Me and Kakashi were just … playing. We had a food fight." I managed to say after I finally got off the floor.

"Ewwww, you're both covered in slimy stuff. You need a bath!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Hah, yeah, we do, don't we?" I asked with a laugh.

"Hmm, I do think I agree with Naruto." Kakashi commented.

I shooed Naruto and Gaara out of the kitchen so that they wouldn't create an even bigger mess. Naruto left happily, not wanting to get dirty, but Gaara gave Kakashi a wary look before leaving.

I had egg shells and slime all over me, with brownie mix in my hair. Kakashi had brownie mix all over, and the front of his shirt and pants were soaked were I had splashed him with milk.

"We are quite the pair aren't we?" I asked with a small giggle.

Kakashi just let out a small laugh and nodded.

"I haven't had that much fun with another person my age in … well years." I admitted. I had lots of fun with Naruto over the years, and now with Gaara. But I didn't really associate with people my own age. I think Kakashi was really my own friend, though I got along great with Gai and Iruka. And I was actually older than Kakashi by about two or three years.

"Me either. I don't even think I've ever gotten in a food fight before." Kakashi also admitted.

"Thanks Kakashi." I said after a few moments.

"For what?" He asked, confused.

"For being here. For being my friend." I walked over and planted a small peck on his cheek before walking past him into my room.

* * *

Kakashi's PoV

I lifted my hand to where she kissed me.

'She … kissed me.' I thought, dazed.

'I'm probably blushing like a school boy with his first crush …' I realized.

Slowly, I felt my face break into a grin, and before I realized it, I let out a loud cheer.

* * *

Ahhhh! So exciting! She got a new house!  
I love moving, I've moved around all my life because I'm a military brat, so I'm pretty used to it.

New places are fun and exciting!

There's a weird linebreak at the very top of the page, and I didn't mean to put it there, but somehow it got there. Oh well. It may not be there when I upload it.

ANYWAYS! I hope you guys enjoyed it! This is actually the longest chapter yet.

I try and put about 1 thousand words per chapter, so that you're not reading like 8 pages every chapter. Though it's like every chapter is about 4-5 pages long with me typing it in microsoft word.

I went through and re-read some chapters and to my ultimate dismay there's some typos.

I realize probably every writer doesn't spell something right or what not, but for some odd reason it really bothers me.

Probably because my 6th grade teacher drilled so much grammar and other crap into my brain that it's scarred me for life ...

Hmm, not suprising ...

So anyways, I'll probably be editing some stuff in my spare time, if I'm not typing up the next chapter

Thanks for reading! Review if you have the time! :)


	18. Chapter 18

I would've thought come summer I would've updated more.

Unfortunately, it seems I was wrong.

I've either been too lazy or way too busy to be able to update like I should

Sorry !

Anyways, the good news is ….

IS THAT I'M GETTING A NEW HOUSE !  
I'm pretty excited, it's much bigger than the one we live in now.

Though packing sucks.

A lot …

Anyways, enjoy this update !  
I've been sick myself with allergies recently so I thought misery loves company and I'd share the love.

Disclaimer : Dunno how many times I've gotta do this, but uh, I don't own anything …

* * *

Kakashi's PoV

" 'M not sick!"

"Yes you are. You can't walk without wobbling and I'm afraid you're going to hack your lungs out if you continue on."

" You can't force me to stay in bed! Watch, I'll get out of this bed right now and whoop your a-"

Sonya's agitated response was cut off as her face features froze, and then twisted into a grimace as she sneezed.

" Owww …" she moaned pitifully, holding her head in her hands.

I gave a snort. " You were saying?"

She sniffled and blew her nose into a wad of tissue before throwing it into the trash basket on the side of the bed that was already overflowing with disgusting snot rags.

" Ah thik Ah'll stay 'ere …" She gave another sniffle before snuggling back under the covers and pulling them over her head.

I shook my head at her antics. When I had stepped into the house this morning, I was greeted by a tearful Naruto and an ever stoic Gaara, though it seemed he was in a foul mood.

* * *

_A takeout bag in one hand, I used my other hand to open the front door with the key Sonya had given me, which was a copy of the original. Gently closing the door behind me, I barely made it to the living room before I heard the stomps of Naruto running my direction from the stairs._

_Naruto skidded to a stop in front of me, Gaara silently and slowly walking in his wake._

_They were both still in their PJs, which was strange because Sonya usually had them bathed and dressed by this time usually, it was after all around 11 in the morning, getting close to 12, hence why I brought food._

_I also then realized that Naruto looked on the verge of tears, and Gaara's glower seemed twice as deadly._

"_Kakashi ! You have to help us ! Mom is __**dying**__ !" He frantically pulled on my pants, trying to guide me to Sonya's room._

_I raised my visible eyebrow and gently placed the takeout food on the kitchen counter before walking into her room, Naruto all the while tugging on me and Gaara simply glaring._

_As I opened the bedroom door I saw a large lump under the bed covers._

_As I walked closer the lump froze, and then started shaking frantically as I heard hoarse coughing, slightly muffled by the covers._

_Reaching out and pulling the covers down I encountered Sonya pitifully curled into a ball, hacking and sneezing. She feebly raised her head to see where her covers went, before her glazed over eyes finally focused on me._

" _Oh. Goo moring Kakashi." She greeted, sniffling a bit at the end of her sentence._

_She looked like death had paid a visit. She was pale and had a light sheen of sweat on her face. Her eyes had big purple bags under them, and her nose and cheeks were a ruddy red. I frowned and took a glove off and leaned over to check her forehead. She was burning up._

"_How long have you been sick Sonya? You're running a high fever." I asked, concerned with how long this had been going on. I had been away the past few days doing a quick mission._

_She shrugged, and then sniffled, before burrowing her head back into her pillow._

"_She only started this last night." Gaara answered quietly, glaring at Sonya's still figure on the bed, with what I could only guess was annoyance._

_She raised her head again and tried to prop herself up on her elbows. As she began to rise she went into another coughing fit and flopped lifelessly back onto the bed._

" '_M fine. Really. Just need to get up an walk around a bit, I'll be righ as rain." She sniffled loudly after finishing her sentence. _

_Naruto tugged on my sleeve again._

"_Please Kakashi, you have to save her!" _

_I groaned and rubbed my forehead. Playing nurse to Sonya was not what I had in mind for today. I only wanted to drop off some lunch and say hello, and then later on I was going to meet up with Iruka just hang out. I spent most of my spare time with Sonya, so I felt the need to schedule with something with some of my other friends, especially since I didn't need Gui accusing me off abandoning them all. _

_But, considering Sonya had no one to look after her, and it seemed she was incapable of doing it herself at the moment; she was at the top of my priorities at the moment._

* * *

I shook my head again. At least the boys were okay. After I called Iruka and told him the situation he volunteered to take the boys for the day, saying it was alright that I stayed home and took care of my indisposed girlfriend. He said that he would take them out to do something, and that later on he would swing by the Uchihas compound to talk to Itachi about something, and then at least Naruto and Gaara would be able to meet Sasuke. I scoffed at the word girlfriend, but decided not to correct him, it seemed most people in Konoha thought that Sonya and I were a couple, despite me correcting them, or Sonya's yelling. All the old grandmas in the village would smile and whisper and point at us if we had to go to the village with the boys and I accompanied them. Sonya would scowl and blush, and try and scurry past them, while I just smirked and would wave good morning to them.

I _eventually_ planned on asking her out on a date soon. I had dated women in the past, sure. But none of them were like Sonya. She was my best friend, and on top of that, she could mostly stand toe to toe with me in a fight. She was smart and funny, and kind. She was great with kids, Naruto and Gaara stood as testaments to that. Naruto was a small ball of energy, but he was a sweet kid, even if he liked to pull pranks. Gaara had only been living with her for about 2 months, but even he had changed a bit, glaring a little less often. Though he always had one for me … Anyways, she was a wonderful woman to be around and I really wanted to be in a serious relationship with her. I mean, I already practically lived with her. I felt giddy, like I was a little kid with a crush. She would blush while I was around her sometimes, if my hand grasped hers or I helped her with something. I'm sure she would blush more often but she was spectacular at keeping a straight face. She wasn't the only one though, she would do little gestures of affection like placing a peck on my cheek, or randomly pouncing at me and getting me with, and I quote, a 'ninja hug'.

I shook my head, trying to clear my head and stop from rambling to myself.

Sonya mumbled something incoherent shifted on the bed, displacing her blankets. I smiled as I stood up from my chair and walked over to pull the covers up to her chin again.

I think I would ask after she recovered …

* * *

Riiiiiiight

Short chapter, but yay at least I finally updated and l I let you know I'm not dead yet !

I'd feel really bad if I left this as a cliffhanger right here

So I'ma write the next chapter, and THEN post this one and the next one

…

Or I could go ahead and post this chapter and upload the next chapter like later on tonight or tomorrow morning

I mean, what's a story without at least one cliffhanger ?

Though I really _hate _cliffhangers …

Anyways

Uhm, how was Kakashi ?  
Was he like super cheesy ?

Was he ok?  
I'm not really sure, I don't really write romances

Or inner romantic ramblings

I'm 16 and I think boys are icky and stupid and highschool is a dumb time to date because there's too much peer pressure and there's no reason to be in a relationship.

So I can't say I'm romance savvy …

Anyways, review, lemme know !

Oh, and THANK YOU IF YOU REVIEWED!

I know I only have like 7 reviews ?

BUT

I have a TON of you guys putting me on your favorites list and story alert

And I have like 700 – 1000 viewers

So even if I only have a few reviews, I know that this story still gets frequented quite a bit

So THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING AND FAVORITING AND ALERTING AND ALL THAT GOOD STUFF !

Makes me feel good, lets me know I'm at least decent if I can get 1000 people to look at this story

Ok, I'll stop rambling, anyways, check back in like later tonight or tomorrow morning or afternoon, I'll just go ahead and post this chapter and then type up the next chapter and post it.


	19. Chapter 19

Ah, here's the next chapter

If I manage to post this tonight I'll be happy

Or maybe I'll just be tired … hmm …

Any who, here we are

Sonya's PoV

" I'm fine! Stop molly coddling me! You can certainly act like a mother hen if you put the effort into it." I scowled at Kakashi, hoping that he would stop pestering me with questions of my health.

" You just went through a bought of pneumonia, of course I'm going to be concerned!" He said, scowling right back at me.

" Yes, and due to Nurse Kakashi I'm one-hundred percent fine! Alles ist gut!" I stuck my tongue out at him and moved to my closet, trying to pick out a dress for tonight's date.

Kakashi had finally worked up the nerve to ask me out on a formal date. Granted, we wouldn't be doing anything overly fancy, we were just going to go out and have dinner, but I was still excited. I mean, it only took him a couple years. Granted, I could've asked him before this, but I didn't want to startle him and run him off with my persistence. Kakashi would be going is his regular shinobi clothing, but I decided on just a pretty blue blouse and nice black slacks. And boots. Can't go anywhere without boots …

" Don't talk to me in a different language. You know I hate that." He grumbled at me.

" Careful, by admitting your language weakness I may be forced to talk to you in different languages all day."

That response earned me an eyeroll and scowl.

I simply grinned and continued getting ready.

" Are you sure the boys are alright at Iruka's house? I don't want to keep dumping the boys on him. He's such a nice man …"

I ducked into my bathroom to change before Kakashi responded.

" I'm sure they're fine. Naruto thinks Iruka is the next best thing since ramen noodles. Even Gaara doesn't scowl as often around him."

" That's good. It's a shame the boys don't get out more. I'd let them visit other families if I was sure that they wouldn't be stoned out in public. We should set up a play date with Sasuke, the boys liked him the last time they went over."

I finished lacing my boots up and then walked out of the bathroom to sit on the bed and started French braiding my hair.

Kakashi came to sit next to me and placed a hand on my knee.

" I'll be sure to ask Itachi the next time I see him." He gave a small pat to my knee.

Quickly finishing my braid I stood up to grab the house keys and stuffed them in my pocket before turning to Kakashi and smiling.

" Ready?" I asked

He walked toward and offered his arm for me to take. Lacing my arm with his, his eye curved into a smile.

" Absolutely."

* * *

I snorted, and tried hard not to laugh, trying unsuccessfully to calm my breathing down, which was bad considering I had a mouthful of food in my mouth. Quickly clapping my hands over my mouth to try and prevent shooting my food out of my mouth, I continued to laugh, feeling my laughs shake my entire body, and I doubled over and put my head against the table, dangerously close to either snorting food out my nose or drooling it out my mouth.

Quickly swallowing what I had, I took a breath in, filling my lungs with air, though I continued coughing and giggling.

" It's not that funny! Honestly, I expected more sympathy from you!" Kakashi cried indignantly.

Gulping in more breaths of air, I finally calmed myself down and looked at Kakashi, before bursting out into another fit of laughs.

" Of course it is! It's hilarious! I want to see the picture! Poor little Kakashi, being forced to walk around with pink hair. Gui got you _sooo_ good! You guys are amazing with your contests."

Kakashi's face flushed, either from anger or embarrassment or both, and he grumbled something under his breath. I only caught 'unsympathetic' and 'traitor'.

" Hey, I'm sympathetic," I defended, "Just for the right people and the right reasons."

Kakashi merely 'hmphed' at me.

" Aww, Kakashi got his ego deflated. Poor baby." I reached across the table grabbed his hands and placed a kiss on his knuckles before patting them.

" It'll be alright. I'm sure your head shall fill with hot air in under a few minutes." I gave him my best toothy grin and raised an eyebrow.

Kakashi glared at me one last time before letting out a small resigned sigh.

" How you continue to frustrate me and then somehow make up for it afterwards confuses me to this day."

" It's because you can't resist my charm. Mwahaha, I shall be able to persuade you into anything, just you watch, soon you'll be cooking and doing laundry all day long, hahah!"

Kakashi pulled his hands from my grasp and crossed them in front of his chest.

" Mhmm, keep on dreaming." He said with a scoff.

" Don't deny it Kakashi, it'll happen, one day. I mean, I already coerced you into helping me pack and move into the new house."

He let out a snort, but he uncrossed his arms and grasped one my hands and his eye twinkled with happiness. I smiled, and after squeezing his fingers one last time, I pulled my hand back so that I could continue eating.

* * *

I laced his hand with mine as we walked out the restaurant and onto the street. Happily swinging our hands back and forth, we started to walk to Iruka's to pick up the boys.

Kakashi stared at me, almost dreamily as we walked, and unlacing our fingers, he wrapped his arm around my waist. I rested my head on his shoulder as we continued to walk a leisurely pace.

Glancing up to look at the moon, I smiled, simply happy to be here with Kakashi.

As I focused my gaze on the sky, something caught my attention. Thin wisps of black were swirling into the sky, giving an ominous feeling as the designs curled in front of the moon.

' _Smoke_.' I finally realized.

" Kakashi, look up." I ordered him, pointing with my finger, trying to divert his attention.

His gaze quickly snapped from my face to the night sky, and I saw his face wrinkle in confusion, before I saw a flash of fear cross his eyes.

" Something's wrong. That's too far away to be Iruka's home, but I'd probably guess it looks like it's coming from the Uchiha compound." He whispered, his voice laced with concern.

" That's too much smoke to be a simply hearth fire." I said out loud.

My eyes widened in realization.

" Kakashi, we need to run, there's something wrong going on, and Sasuke is over there."

We leapt to the roof tops, quickly sprinting towards the compound.

* * *

Finally getting there, I quickly took in the entire scene.

The Uchiha compound was in carnage.

Bodies and blood were strewn everywhere. The separate buildings looked ransacked and the thin paper walls and doors showed more blood splattered on the inside.

" I need to find Sasuke! You look for any intruders!" I shouted to Kakashi, quickly sprinting forward.

" Sasuke!" I cupped my hands and shouted. I ran into a side courtyard, and immediately noticed a small prone figure lying on the ground. The raven and oddly spiked hair marked him as Sasuke.

" Sasuke!" I gasped as I knelt next to the body.

He was lying on the ground, curled into a small ball. Rolling him onto his back, I noticed his shallow breathing, and blood on his face.

Picking him up and cradling him into my arms, I raced to find Kakashi.

" Kakashi! Help please! Sasuke is hurt!" I called out frantically.

Quickly appearing in front of me, Kakashi sprinted towards my side.

" What's wrong?" He asked, and I saw panic and concern on his expression as he looked at the small figure in my arms.

" He's only unconsciousness, but I'm not sure the extent of the damages. We need to get him to the hospital, I can't use my healing jutsus is I don't know what's wrong." I explained, talking hurridly, and began sprinting toward the hospital.

* * *

" There's some damage to his left eye, and the stress of shock on his body will probably make him weak for a short while, but other than, he seems rather fine." A medic nin calmly explained to me.

I'd been sitting in the waiting room for over an hour, resting my head on Kakashi's shoulder, desperately trying not to think of the worst possible outcomes of Sasuke's condition.

I sighed in relief as I heard those words, and I felt Kakashi squeeze my fingers reassuringly, but my hope was short lived.

" His mental stability however, is the thing I'm most concerned about. He's just witnessed the entire slaughter of his clan, and we've no idea where Itachi is. You'll certainly need to keep an eye on him for a good time being, maybe even the rest of his life."

I felt my calmness plummet into my stomach.

Licking my lips to cure the sudden dryness on them, I managed to rasp out, " I'll try my best. He'll be in good hands with me. I promise."

" That's what I hoped to hear. When he wakes up, we'll discuss living arrangements and where he can go-"

" He'll live with me of course." I responded hastily, cutting off his words.

" Despite you being his rescuer, you have no legal-"

" Then I'll make it legal." I snapped, cutting his words off again.

Before he could argue, someone walked into the room.

" It's alright Hagi, I'll take care of the paperwork. Again …"

I glanced to see who came in.

It was the Hokage.

" You've got amazing timing Gramps." I quickly stated, not really processing what was coming out of my mouth.

I felt Kakashi elbow me, and I rubbed my ribs and scowled at him, quickly pinching his arm in reponse.

Before we could continue our mini battle, the Hokage interrupted us.

" So I've been told. You seem to have a knack for picking up strays, it's a wonder you haven't adopted the entire village yet."

" Maybe if I adopted the entire village some people wouldn't act like arrogant jackasses all the time." I said moodily, glaring at the ceiling.

" I'm sure." Hiruzen said, chuckling.

" After Sasuke has woken up, I'll see about getting the paperwork together. For now, you two need to go home and get some rest. You both look tired, and I'm sure Sasuke will be asleep for awhile yet." Hiruzen's face showed concern as he looked at us, but his voice had the undertone of a command.

Sighing, I submitted, letting my shoulders slump, "Of course Hokage-sama. We'll be back in the morning."

* * *

After calling Iruka and letting him know the news, he agreed to let the boys have a sleep over at his house, much to my relief. After thanking him profusely, I flopped onto my bed, and buried my face into the pillow, ready to pass out. Gently, I felt hands weave themselves into my hair, releasing my braid and massaging my scalp. I let out a sigh of contentment, letting those hands massage away my worries.

" You're going to put me to sleep if you keep doing that you know." I mumbled out, turning my head sideways to peer at Kakashi.

Chuckling, he moved his hands down to my shoulders, gently kneading the muscles there.

" That's the point." He said, moving his hands lower and rubbing circles on my back.

" Besides, I feel bad that our date ended horribly. Your entire night was ruined and-"

I moved my hand backwards, and grabbing Kakashi's shoulder, I tugged him down to lay next to me, effectively cutting off his sentence.

" I loved it." I whispered, lacing my fingers together with his.

" Oh, well, uhm-"

" We should do it again some time. Hopefully next time it'll be even better."

" Yeah, hopefully." He agreed, resting his head next to mine.

I layed there for a moment, simply savoring it.

" Stay here." I whispered, pleadingly.

" Sonya, I don't think-"

" I don't care if it's not appropriate. I don't wanna be alone." I leaned forward, putting my head against his chest.

He hesitated for a few moments, before finally relenting and wrapping his arms around, holding me against his body.

" Ok, just for tonight."

Nodding, I snuggled closer, and the last thing I felt before falling asleep was a kissed placed on my forehead.

* * *

Sorry I haven't updated in forever!  
I know some of y'all were freakin' out and asking me "When are you going to update!" and "Please don't abandon this story!"

I'm not abandoning it! Promise!  
I just moved into my new house 2 weeks ago!

I finally set up my computer, it took me awhile, I had to figure out which box I put all my wires and stuff in.

And then school just started so I was kinda trying to prepare for that at the same time as packing and moving into my new house.

Yeah, it was chaos

BUT

I'm pretty much finally settled in, so I can finally sit down and get back to my writing

Now that I'm in school again I can finally set up a schedule to when I can be able to sit down and start writing again

Anyways!

THANKS TO ALL THOSE THAT FAVORITED AND REVIEWED!

Sorry for freaking you out!

I'll try and update and more often!

Oh, and sorry for lying last chapter

I'm pretty sure I said 'check back tomorrow, I'll have an update!'

And then, that never happened, so I'm sure some of you were peeved

My bad, my mom was a slave driver when it came to getting the house all packed up, so I wasn't able to sit down and finish the rest of the chapter and upload it

Ok, ok, I'll shut up now

Until next time!

THANKS !

ENJOY ! :):):):):):):):)


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey there!**

**It's CRAZY to think I haven't updated this story in almost an entire school year.**

**I had a bit of writer's block after finishing the last chapter, and with high school hanging ominously over my head I didn't have much of a chance to get back into the Naruto groove.**

**For that, I apologize. Despite the fact that I haven't updated this story in a long time I was amazed and inspired at the amount of traffic this story still garnered, along with there still being lots of favorites and alerts being added.**

**I humbly bow to all of those who have followed this story thus far and ask that you forgive me for making you wait so long. I praise all of you who have sent me favorites and alerts and private messages, all of which have encouraged me to keep going, even if it took a long time. **

**I would like to point out that this is a FLASHBACK chapter! Because we can't have an anime without there being flashbacks! They're practically essential! **

**ANYWAYS! in this chapter the boys meet Sasuke for the second time, though certainly for much longer than the first time. If you read the end of chapter 19 you'll notice Kakashi mentioning that Iruka mentions that he's going to swing by the Uchiha place with the boys, thus at the very least introducing the boys to Sasuke. This takes place between chapter 18 & 19, shortly after Sonya is recovered (for the most part) from her wonderful bought of pneumonia. **

**Also, I reread my story and I noticed that there's like a few times where Gai was spelled Gui ... not really sure why that happened, considering the A and U button aren't that close to each other. The only thing I can think of is that it got spell checked to that, I guess for Graphic User Interface? That's the only thing I can think of o_O**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

**FLASHBACK!**

Kakashi's PoV

_"We're going the right way, right?" Sonya asked as she peered at the houses around her._

_"For the last time, yes." I answered back sending a sidelong annoyed look at her. She childishly stuck her tongue out, before she coughed into her hand. She had __**just**__ gotten over her pneumonia, though she was still coughing. If I could have she would've still been at home resting, but she threatened to throw potted plants at me so I agreed to let her walk the boys to the Uchiha compound._

_"Where are we going Mommy?" Naruto asked as he walked hand-in-hand with Sonya. Gaara was on the other side of her, also holding her hand._

_"Well, that nice man Itachi, the one who escorted me home awhile ago? He has a younger brother around your age! So I thought it would be nice to set up a playdate! He probably gets lonely in that big compound of his, and I heard from Iruka that you had already met him when he had to go by his house while he was babysitting you when I was sick. Besides, you need to play with someone else other than me and Kakashi." Sonya answered smiling. _

_"We play with Kitsune and Panda and Goaty! Don't they count?" Naruto protested loudly._

_"And Iruka." Gaara added quietly._

_Sonya's steps faltered for a bit and I saw her eye twitch. I chuckled lightly, wondering how she'd get out of that trap._

_"Uhm, well yes, but you need to play with __**real**__ people also. Other than Iruka. You need kids your own age. Our puppets are great and all, but uh, they probably need a break too." Sonya answered, glaring at me._

_Understatement. Kitsune had gotten jam in his tail, Goaty's beard had been used as a painting brush by Naruto, and Panda ... well the Panda was fine, but that was because Gaara didn't let anyone near him, on penalty of the doom glare._

_They hadn't had those puppets for very long but they were already being subject to torture in the Mikozumi household. It would be easy to place the blame on mostly just Naruto (considering Gaara hated anything messy) but Sonya was just as bad. She loved to fingerpaint, roll in the grass, make mudcakes, bake and ice on funny designs, and other equally messy activities that usually resulted in __**everyone**__ getting a bath that night. If you weren't joining in on the fun, then Sonya would bring the fun to you, which was usually worse._

_Shaking my head I continued walking. Sonya swung her hands back and forth and started loudly singing making Naruto laugh loudly as he jostled, while Gaara just looked mildly annoyed._

* * *

_As we made our way into the Uchiha compound we stopped in front of the main household's sliding door. Sonya moved to stand next to me, the boys directly behind us. She squinted her eyes, probably trying to see if she could make any silhouettes out behind the door. Shrugging, she raised her hand up to knock._

_Before she could rap her knuckles on the slide, it very suddenly opened, revealing a young girl. Sonya 'eep'd and took a step back, not really expecting the door to open._

_"You're here for the playdate for Sasuke, correct?" The girl asked us smiling._

_"Yes." I answered easily, interrupting Sonya._

_The girl bowed and then motioned for us to come into the house._

_"Wait here while I retrieve Sasuke and his parents." the girl bowed again and quickly hurried off._

_Sonya looked around and let out a low whistle of appreciation as she took in the size and grandeur of the place. Despite the fact that the compound was on practically at the edge of the village, it was still well kept._

_"Nice place." She muttered._

_Naruto started to wander around and Gaara slowly and silently followed after._

_"Soo ... whatcha up to?" Sonya asked as she came to stand next to me, her arms swinging beside her._

_"Standing. Next to you. In the Uchiha compund. Waiting." I answered in a monotone voice._

_She pouted at me, putting her hands on her hips._

_"You're no fun. At least act like you're excited." She begged, bumping her shoulder into mine._

_"What do you expect me to say? I'm not doing anything." I retorted back._

_"Then make something up! We're here, in a palace, waiting for the magical unicorns to come forth and invite us to icecream with glitter sprinkles!" She exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air._

_Naruto and Gaara were amusing themselves by trying to balance on one foot, Naruto talking loudly and mostly falling over, while Gaara stood stock still perfectly balancing on one foot, before Naruto crashed into him, toppling them both over. Gaara angrily muttered something to his brother and Naruto just laughed back._

_"I'm not here for your entertainment. Besides, who comes up with something as dumb as that?" I asked smirking, watching her expression change._

_Her grin went to an open mouth, which went to an angry frown. She raised her finger and pointed it at me, her mouth opened and I assumed she was about to start her lecture on magical creatures. Reacting quickly, I stuck a hand out and poked her side._

_Her face twisted and she made a squeak, her arms flying to cover her exposed middle. Grinning, I stepped over and made a few more jabs at her. She squalled and squeaked, stumbling backyards trying to get away. Finally finding her balance, she stood her ground and started to put her hands out, attacking my sides trying to tickle me. We both stood there jabbing and blocking, laughing at successful attempts and trying to out-wrestle the other. _

_A throat cleared behind us, and Sonya quickly flew around while I slowly spun on my heel to look at the noise._

_Fugaku and his wife Mikoto stood in front of us, Fugaku with an unimpressed look while Mikoto smiled at us. Sasuke was slightly behind his mother, and Itachi stood off to the side of his family, giving me a small nod of greeting. Sonya blushed in embarrassment at being caught in a tickle fight and straightened her shirt before looking over to her boys and letting out a sharp whistle. Gaara and Naruto stopped wrestling each other and came to stand beside Sonya. _

_"Hello! My name is Sonya Mikozumi and these are my boys Naruto and Gaara." Sonya grinned widely as she did a small head bow._

_"I am Fugaku and this is my wife Mikoto. Sasuke and Itachi are our sons." Fugaku nodded his head in acknowledgement toward Sonya. _

_Mikoto stepped forward and spoke up before anyone else. "Thank you for arranging a playdate with Sasuke. He doesn't play with anyone except his brother, so it will be a nice change to see some new faces." Mikoto smiled as she talked. Sasuke's face turned a bit red and he looked away. Naruto finally noticed the other boy and quickly ran forward, stopping in front of the other boy._

_"Hey Sasuke! We came back! It's me Naruto and my brother Gaara!" Naruto declared loudly and held his hand out to the other boy. Sasuke looked at it, before hesitantly grabbing it with his own._

_"I'm glad." He said with a small smile. Naruto grinned widely while Gaara gave a small nod. _

_"Itachi, show them into the back courtyard please. Let them run around for a bit." Fugaku ordered his son while he still stared at Sonya. _

_Nodding, Itachi walked away with the three boys following him. Naruto turned back to wave at us, and even Gaara twitched his fingers in a small goodbye. I gave them a wave while Sonya grinned and waved back, blowing a kiss with her other hand. _

_"So, why aren't your boys in the academy with Sasuke? Do they not plan on becoming shinobi? We didn't meet them the last time they were here, only Itachi and Sasuke saw them." Fugaku directed his question toward Sonya, a calculating look on his face._

_"Oh, well with the moving and with Gaara recently coming to stay with us I didn't want them to enter into the academy without them being properly settled. I've been teaching them the basics at home and the Hokage has agreed to let them enter in a bit late. They should having their first day in a few weeks! It'll be good for the boys that they'll already know someone in their own age group at the academy." Sonya explained sheepishly, a hand rubbing her neck while she talked._

_"I see." Fugaku paused and thought for a moment, then finally continued. "You're welcome to stay with my wife and converse. I have business to attend to. Please excuse me." Fugaku bowed and then turned to leave._

_Mikoto stepped to stand beside Sonya._

_"I really must thank you again. Sasuke is an easy and loving child, but he doesn't socialize with his age very well."_

_"Oh no, it's really our pleasure. The boys don't get out very often so it's nice to see them play with someone else their age. If they cause any problems just let me know. Gaara shouldn't but Naruto can be quite energetic ..." Sonya rambled on with Mikoto about her sons, both of them laughing and nodding. _

_I stood watching, just enjoying looking at her while she smiled and laughed. The boys weren't the only ones who didn't get out very often. Sonya was as shunned by the common people as the boys were. But she seemed ok with that, and it even seemed like she was trying to draw the ire of the villagers towards her rather than her boys. She was still as aggressive as ever, and I often accompanied her while she was out shopping or doing anything else just to make sure no one bothered her, more for their own safety than anything else._

_"So when did you and Kakashi get together? You must be well into your relationship if going by the way you act is anything." I was snapped out of my daydreaming when I heard Mikoto question Sonya. Sonya blushed and waved her hands in front of her._

_"Oh, i-it's n-not like that! We're not t-together! He's just a really good friend of the family and he helps me out and stuff. He was the first person I met when I came to this village other than Naruto." Sonya tried to explain, but she was stuttering through her words. She turned her head and started to cough into her hand, probably because she was trying to talk too fast._

_Walking up I draped my arms across her shoulders. "Don't worry Mikoto, I'll take __**good**__ care of her." I smiled as convincingly as I could. Mikoto just smiled and nodded while Sonya's face turned beet red and she looked like she was going to kill me when we got out of the house._

_"I see. My husband was the same way when I met him, though a bit more with the glares. You do that Kakashi. Well, I'm going to go and check on the boys, have a good day." Mikoto waved and then turned to leave. When she had walked out of sight I suddenly felt an elbow connecting with my ribs. Air woosh'd out of my mouth and I stumbled a few steps back. Sonya looked at me murderously, a fist raised threateningly._

_"You're not allowed to embarrass me like that! What's she going to think! I'm not some tart! At least ask me out before you suddenly decide you want to pull a stunt like that!" She stomped out the house and into the courtyard before she stopped and had a coughing fit and I caught up with her._

_Females were so confusing._

_"Wait!" I put my hand on her shoulder and forced her to look at me. "I didn't mean to make you angry."_

_She hmph'd and crossed her arms, glaring at me. She opened her mouth to say something but I put a hand over it to stop her._

_"Sonya, will you go on a date with me?"_

_Her eyes widened and shock was written across her face. A few seconds passed and I was seriously starting to regret opening my mouth before her face split into a grin and she squealed, launching herself into my arms._

_"Yes!" She yelled loudly and spun both of us in circles, before she started violently coughing. I rubbed circles on her back, trying to calm her down._

_"Don't die before our date!"_

_Females were so confusing ..._

* * *

Sonya's PoV

_I had dropped the boys off at around 2 in the afternoon and now that it was around 5:30, I'd figure it would be a good time to go and pick them up. _

_After asking me out for a date Kakashi needed to leave to go do something secretive I'm betting, so I had busied myself with baking strawberry cupcakes for Sasuke and his family. They even had pretty pink frosting and half of them were covered in sprinkles that were little white sugar balls. _

_Arriving at the sliding door I raised my hand to knock._

_Yet again, it was suddenly opened, only this time by Itachi._

_I squeaked and stumbled back (again) but managed to keep a grip on my box of cupcakes._

_"Hello. I assume you've come to collect your sons?" Itachi asked, not at all phased by my surprised reation._

_"Uhm, yes please." I answered. Itachi allowed me inside and motioned for me to follow him. We walked through the compound before we stepped outside into a smaller courtyard._

_"They spent most of the day outside, though they did come in for about an hour to color." Itachi explained as we got closer to the kids. I smiled as I saw the three boys sitting in a circle, papers strewn everywhere and crayons rolling about. As I stepped closer Naruto lifted his head and spotted me. Smilimg, he quickly stood up, grabbed a paper, and ran to me._

_"Mommy! Look at what I drew you." Naruto proudly exclaimed as he thrust his picture in front of my face. I crouched down and put an arm around him, my other hand coming up to grab his paper. In front of me was a messy scrawl of colors, and I could vaguely make out stick figures. One had spiky yellow hair (Naruto), another had messy red hair (Gaara), a figure had grey spiky hair(Kakashi) who stood next to a figure who had long yellow hair (Me), and finally there was one that had black spiky hair (Sasuke). The three smallest were next to each other with smiles drawn on their faces, while the other two stood next to each other also with smiles drawn on their faces. There was green spikes on the ground (grass) and even a few flowers and a blue sky and sun in the background. It was messy, but it was my son's, so it was beautiful. _

_Gaara came silently to my other side and I smiled as I saw he had drawn a picture too. His was actually pretty good for a 6 yr old, with straight lines and the stick figures even had clothes and noses. His was similar to Naruto's except everyone was holding hands in the picture. I smiled and wrapped my other hand around Gaara, hugging both my boys close._

_"Oh, they're both so beautiful! Thank you sooo much! They're so pretty, I'll put them on the fridge when we get home." I gave them both pecks on the cheek and another hug before I lifted my head to look at Sasuke. He also had a picture but was standing nervously off to the side. Smiling, I raised a hand and beckoned him over._

_"You drew something too Sasuke? Why don't you come here and show me?" I smiled as I tried to convince the other boy to show me his picture too._

_He looked at me hesitantly, but finally walked up and handed me the picture. In his picture there were just three figures. One had bright yellow hair, the other had red hair, and there was one with black hair. His was just of the three boys together, playing in a courtyard with a ball. I grinned, happy to know they had all gotten along so well together._

_"That's wonderful Sasuke. You're all very good artists!" I leaned forward and grabbed all three boys into a group hug, and then picked them up and spun in a circle. All three cried out and laughed but before they could start wiggling and have me drop them I decided to set them back down. _

_The next thirty minutes were spent sitting down and listening to the boys recount their adventures. Naruto and Sasuke stood in front of me practically reenacting everything while Gaara sat in my lap and quietly added comments. I laughed and nodded along, but it was starting to get late and I knew the boys were probably stinky and exhausted from all their playing._

_"Well, I'm going to head home with my boys. Thanks for arranging the playdate Itachi." Itachi nodded at me from the side. He had mostly stayed silent off to the side, only responding when Sasuke asked him a question._

_Naruto pouted but Gaara nodded his head and moved to stand next to Sasuke, Naruto following after. The boys hugged each other goodbye and made promises to meet again and that the next time they would have even grander adventures. I crouched down next to Sasuke and hugged him also._

_"I'll see you next time kiddo. I'm glad you and my boys had a great time, I'll see if we can't get together again soon alright? Here, take this box and bring it to your parents." I handed him my box of cupcakes and smiled as he looked at it suspiciously._

_"What is it?" He asked as he moved the box around and looked at it from different angles, trying to figure out what was in it._

_"Well, it's a surprise but I'll let you in on the secret. My famous pink strawberry cupcakes." I leaned in and whispered my 'secret' to him, grinning as his eyes widened and an excited smile spread across his face. I patted him on the back and stood up._

_"Thanks Miss Sonya! Bye Naruto! Bye Gaara!" Sasuke shouted and waved to us with his free hand as we left the compound, his other arm wrapped tightly around the pastry box._

_"So, y'all had a good time, eh?" I asked as I walked home hand-in-hand with my boys._

_"YES! It was so much fun! Sasuke's house is so big! We played tag and hide and go seek and we pretended that we were ninjas and then we ..." Naruto blabbed excitedly about his day and I smiled as I listened to his adventures for the second time. I was sure I was probably going to hear his tales at least another five times before the weekend was over. _

_It was nice that Naruto got along with Sasuke, but given the chance Naruto gets along well with most people. It was especially nice that Gaara seemed to have a good time also. Despite him only being here for a few months with me he'd already opened up a little more. Both my boys were doing better, and I was so thankful. From the way things were looking, things could only get better._


	21. Chapter 21

Sonya's PoV

"He may be a bit disorientated and ... volatile. He's yelled at just about everyone who's tried to question him this morning. Maybe you'll be able to get through to him?" A nurse explained to us as we stood outside of Sasuke's hospital room.

Sasuke had woken up late this morning and Kakashi and I had been called to come and visit him. I brought Naruto and Gaara with me, but I wasn't going to let them into the room until I knew that Sasuke was ok with that.

Nodding, I stepped forward and silently opened the door. I took a deep breath before I walked in. All I knew was that he had been incapacitated. Physically, he'd get better with some rest, but mentally? That was a whole different topic. I didn't know what to expect. All I could do was hope for the best.

Stepping into the room I walked into view of Sasuke. He seemed small in comparison to the large bed he was put in, and the way he was hunched over didn't help the assessment. I slowly walked to stand at the foot of his bed, allowing my boots to make noise as I walked to signal someone was here.

"Leave." A quiet voice ordered me, and Sasuke lifted his head just high enough to glare at me. Recognition flickered in his eyes as he saw me but it left as quickly as it came.

Gone was the smiling happy little kid that I had the pleasure to meet. The kid in front of me was an angry shell, someone who looked like he was ready to set the world on fire if he had to.

"I'll stay here, thanks." I answered standing still.

He glared, but didn't say anything further.

I chewed on the inside of my lip as I looked at him. I would've expected a broken child. Despite the haunting in his eyes, there was fire too. Something happened, something that provoked him.

Just because he hadn't snapped yet and broken down didn't mean he wasn't going to. Whatever happened to him jaded him, but he would keep going. He was strong, but damned if I was going to let him go down a path that would destroy him because of this.

"Naruto and Gaara are here. They wanted to see you. They even made you brownies, and brought paper and crayons." I quietly commented, hoping he'd take the offer.

"I don't need brownies and paper." Sasuke muttered angrily.

"No, but you need friends." I answered back honestly.

"I don't need anyone but myself!" Sasuke lifted his head all the way as he shouted, glaring at me with hatred. It would've been easy to write him off as just a kid with a bad attitude or get angry back, but that would only hurt his situation.

"That's bullshit." I said bluntly, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

He looked at me, clearly startled. He was about to retort before I cut him off.

"Everyone needs someone. A pet, a person, a toy. Doesn't matter. You need a reason to keep living, and only relying on yourself isn't good enough." I straightened up an uncrossed my arms. He looked angry, but he kept his mouth shut, mulling over my words. It didn't matter if he didn't believe them right away, right now it was good enough that he was taking the time to think about it.

"I'll send them in." I turned to leave but his voice stopped me.

"Wait." I turned my head over my shoulder to look at him. He was sitting up straight in his bed, and he glared determinedly at me. I knew the haunted look in his eyes would probably never leave, but it was good at the very least to see some luster back to them.

"It was Itachi." Sasuke's words were barely more than a whisper, before his head bowed again and I could see his small shoulders shaking.

I walked to his bed and sat down, wrapping both of my arms around him. His hands fisted in my shirt and I ran my fingers through his hair and down his back as I felt my shoulder get damp with warm tears. I sat there for a few minutes, just letting him cry. My momma used to say there was nothing wrong with crying after you got hurt, it helped ease the pain, and I was certainly an avid believer in her wisdom. Eventually his hiccups subsided and he slumped against me, just breathing heavily. When I looked down I saw that he had fallen asleep, his face contorted in a grimace. Carefully I laid him down and brought the sheets up to his chin.

I stroked his hair until his facial features smoothed out, and then placed a kiss on his head before getting up and leaving the room.

I quietly closed the door on my way out and then slumped against the door coming to sit on the ground.

"What happened?" I heard Kakashi ask me as he came to sit next to me pulling ma against his side.

"Itachi." I answered shortly.

"ItachI? We haven't seen or heard from him yet. How'd yo-" I cut him off.

"Itachi was the one that murdered all of those people." I answered curtly.

"That ... doesn't make-"

"Any sense? I know, but I don't doubt Sasuke, so you'd better believe it. There was no way he was lying. If Itachi doesn't come forward soon and is reported missing you'll know that looks suspicious, not to mention he's already got a mark against his name after that Shisui case."

"I'll report it to the Hokage ... Is he okay?" Kakashi murmured as he held me closer. I sighed into his shoulder. I felt a bit helpless here. Sasuke wasn't open to other people's opinions at the moment. What if he never was? What if let his revenge consume him? What if-

"Calm down. If you can help Naruto and Gaara you can help Sasuke. You've got a knack for empathy and sympathy."

I smiled. Even those his words were short, they made me feel better.

"He's going to have serious mental scarring and a turnaround in his attitude, and that's probably the least of it. But he had a crying session and now he's asleep, so that must mean he's not a completely helpless case. It'll just take time. Just like everyone else, he just needs time ..." I snuggled closer to Kakashi and we sat there for a few minutes, just enjoying the other's presence. Before long though I heard the fast taps of footsteps heading our way. Cracking an eye open I saw Naruto and Gaara heading our way, Hiruzen not far behind. I sighed and nudged Kakashi. With our arms still around each other we stood up and faced our visitors.

"Mom! Can we see Sasuke yet?" Naruto asked me as he ran up to me, tugging on the edge of my shirt. Gaara nodded in agreement and lifted his arms full of stuffed pandas, motioning that he was ready to go in.

"He's asleep right now sweethearts, when he wakes up though I think he'll be ready for his friends to come in." I untangled myself from Kakashi and ruffled their hair.

"I assume you've already spoken to him then?" Hiruzen asked me as he stood behind the boys.

"Ja. And you'll be interested in hearing what he had to say."

* * *

After talking with Hiruzen and discussing what the next step to the plans were, we were interrupted by a nurse walking in Sasuke's room. Not a minute later there was a raised voice and she came backpedaling out. She turned around to look at our group before hurrying over.

"He's requesting a Sonya, Naruto, and Gaara?" She spoke quickly, wringing her hands, a blatant sign of nervousness. She must be new here ...

"That's us. I'll be out shortly." I answered and put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down. She nodded and then scurried away.

"Afterwards I'd like to speak with Sasuke." The Hokage subtly ordered. I nodded as I walked into the room.

Naruto and Gaara quickly appeared by Sasuke's side, showering him with all the things they had gotten him. Sasuke looked a bit overwhelmed and even a bit annoyed, but overall I think he was happy to see them, even if he wouldn't admit it.

I sat silently in the corner and watched the three boys interact. Sasuke didn't speak much but I think Naruto spoke enough for both him and Gaara, mostly about anything that just happened to pass through his mind at the moment. I think Sasuke appreciated the distraction. Gaara presented his presents of pandas and Sasuke accepted them with a nod, and while Gaara didn't smile, his features softened, which was practically his own way of smiling.

After about twenty minutes I decided Sasuke had probably had enough of the energetic blond and silent redhead so I stood up ushered them out of the room after they had said their farewells.

"The Hokage would like to speak with you now Sasuke if that's alright." I mentioned after the boys had left the room.

He looked a bit hesitant. "Will you ... stay with me?" He asked quietly. I nodded and he seemed satisfied.

The Hokage stepped in shortly after the boys had left, and stood in front of the bed, looking at Sasuke.

"We have much to discuss Sasuke. I've heard from Sonya about what you said, but I'm going to need to hear it from you to make it official." Sasuke looked angry but he nodded. I sat on the bed and pulled him onto my lap, my arms wrapped around him in hopes that it would comfort him as he recounted his tale.

* * *

After learning what happened Hiruzen content with the information he had heard.

"There is one last matter we have to discuss. With the elimination of the Uchiha clan with the exception of yourself and your brother, you have no one to live with. While you own all the rights to the Uchiha Compound now, you are essentially an orphan."

The way he said it made it sound so ... final. Sasuke glared off to the side, and I felt him tense in my arms.

"As such, I would like to bring up adoption. You may be allowed to live at the orphanage, or has already extended an invitation to become your legal guardian."

Sasuke moved his head up to look at me, and I smiled trying to reassure him.

"My house is big enough for another person. Not to mention you won't be alone. Naruto and Gaara live with me, and I'm almost always at home."

Sasuke sat still for a few minutes. No child should be put through what happened to him, and no child should live alone, especially in the sight of a massacre. I didn't care if he never considered me his mom, but he needed an adult to rely on trust at his age.

"I ... accept." Sasuke spoke quietly, as if afraid of his own answer. I was glad, but at the same time heartbroken that such horrific circumstances were what led to this. It seemed like everyone in my small family had problems of some sort, were broken in some way. I couldn't tell if that was funny or depressing.

All I could do now was hope. It seemed like a lot of what I was doing lately was riding on hope and faith. I wished that it was enough.

* * *

Sasuke was discharged the next morning, and my stomach was twisted in knots over worry that Sasuke might regret his decision as we made our way home. Naruto and Gaara were both very happy that Sasuke was coming to live with us, and I was praying that their presence would be the major healing factor in Sasuke's life. I had explained to both of them what happened, and afterwards Naruto promised that he would take care of Sasuke no matter what, and Gaara simply nodded with him. Both would be able to in some small way empathize with the pain that Sasuke was going through. Neither had picture perfect lives and I knew that I surely didn't.

Maybe all together we'd all be able to help heal our twisted and broken pasts ...

Stepping up to my house I smiled and grabbed Sasuke's hand. Sasuke glanced down at our linked hands before staring up at me, giving me a small nod that he was ready.

"Welcome to your new home Sasuke."

* * *

**A/N: I wasn't really sure how to write Sasuke's reaction after he woke up in the hospital. I mean, anger sure, but what else? He's 6 but he already has it in his head that his goal in life is to hunt down and kill his older brother. I've head deaths in my family, and have been on the receiving end of hospitalization, but it doesn't phase me anymore. When I was diagnosed with my blood disorder I was 11 and pissed as hell that something was happening to _me_, and it took my mom practically kicking me in the ass for me to realize I was being stupid and I needed to wake up and get my head put on straight, that there were other people who had it worse and that I still had people counting on and loving me. But I mean, I had crying sessions too. I think really to move on from something you need to be allowed to vent, whether that's through crying or getting into a fight with someone depends on the person. And you still have to have time to reflect and think about your actions and what you can do. So I tried to kind of convey that. Hope I did ok. Leave me a review or PM or somethin'. Hope you liked it! I'll try to not take as long as I did to update again.**


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